The Heir of Slytherin
by BoOkWoRm88424
Summary: Tom Riddle III is starting his second year at Hogwarts. One problem- the Chamber of Secret is open and being the only son of Voldemort he is a prime suspect. R&R
1. Chapter 1

The Heir of Slytherin

Tom Riddle III's second year at hogwarts is here. I have written a first year for Tom but I have included all need to know information in this chapter so you don't have to read the first if you don't want to. If you read this and decide you do thats great too. Hope you like my story!

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><p>The Leaky Cauldron was bustling with wizards and witches on that day. There was a constant traffic moving through the tavern this particular week. Hogwarts letters had gone out recently and students were all making their way to buy this year's school supplies. Currently there was a family moving through the room, dodging wizards and witches who were actually spending money in the tavern.<p>

The parents were clearly muggles. The man wore a sky blue t- shirt that said _Leave it in the Ring_ across the chest and had two boxing gloves hanging from the bottom of the G. The woman was very coordinated with a cream colored tank top that had a pattern by the neck line and a worn green cardigan that matched her eyes and earrings. With them were two boys. The shorter one had blonde hair that curled tightly on his head. He had thick glasses that could have made the blind man see. The boy strongly resembled the man as both had the same hair and complexion; however, the boy didn't look like the athlete that his father clearly was. The second boy was older and taller, fourteen years old and going through a growth spurt to be exact. The average on looker might say that this boy was the other's older brother; however, this was not true. Upon closer examination one would see that he looked nothing like either of the muggle adults with his dark brown hair and dark, almost black, eyes. In fact he was not part of this family; he was simply a friend of the younger boy's visiting for the summer.

"Hey Tom watch this it's really cool," Scott, the blonde boy, said pulling out his wand and tapping the brick wall. It groaned as it opened to reveal a bustling street called Diagon Alley.

Tom smiled and nodded pretending like it was just as awesome as his best friend thought it was. In reality he had seen better. Scott ran held his hands out to show "pizazz", making his best friend snort. Tom paused for a second to actually take in the street. Wizards and witches were everywhere making their way to the stores that lined the street corner.

Even though Tom had been raised by a wizard and was currently going into his second year at Hogwarts he had never been to this famed street. His father had never planned on sending him to Hogwarts in the first place so visiting the alley would have been pointless. Tom's father was in Azkaban now serving a life sentence. The man had committed more accounts of first degree murder than Tom could count. On top of that Augustine York had openly proclaimed to the world that he was a death eater and so one could also argue that he was in prison for being a follower of the Dark Lord. York wasn't actually Tom's father. That would have been far too simple. His full name was Tom Marvelo Riddle III, son of Tom Marvelo Riddle Jr aka Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord had raped a woman two years before he attempted to kill Harry Potter, and she gave birth to two twin boys. She raised them until they were three in a remote prison that had been specially created just for her. Then something happened that neither boy remembered causing her death. Augustine York took them in after that.

Jonathan, Tom's twin, died though, when they were seven. Tom didn't know how, but he was there. Something had happened that night. Jonathan looked into his murderer's eyes and said, _Long live Harry Potter_. There had been a green flash and then all Tom could remember was pain. His father raised him from then on alone until he was thirteen. About a year ago the ministry found them and put both on trial for murder. Tom should've been found guilty. After all his father had been training him in the art of magic since he was three, and it would be a lie to say that all the magic he learned followed a path which the ministry would deem morale. A miracle named Dumbledore happened then and it was agreed that he would go through a seven year trial period at Hogwarts before a final decision was made. This brought him to today, two weeks before the start of the first semester of his second year of Hogwarts.

Tom studied each shop," Where are we headed?" he asked Scott.

Scott shrugged," You said you wanted a new wand right? Why don't we start there?"

Tom nodded and the four headed over to Olivander's. An old man with white wispy hair stood behind the counter.

"You two are a bit old to be buying your first wand aren't you? I know I sold you one last year Rowan wood with a unicorn hair core correct?" Olivander said studying the boys.

Scott nodded and held up his wand showing Olivander that he was still using it.

"Actually sir I would like a new one," Tom said politely.

"You look like you're fifteen why do you need one?" Olivander asked although he was already rummaging through his drawers for a good fit.

"My old one was homemade and I thought one made by a professional would be more efficient," Tom lied smoothly. His old one worked magnificently, his father had crafted it just for him. In light of the events that happened over the past year Tom had thought it best to get a new one. He was forcing himself to put as much distance between himself and the past as possible. Every time he looked down at his old wand a lot of confusing feelings came up, feelings that were easier to burry than deal with.

Olivander raised his white eyebrow and glanced up from a box he was studying, "A homemade wand? It worked? What was it made out of?"

"My father made it, I believe it is oak and the core was a thread from a dementor's cloak," Tom replied quietly.

That made Olivander pause, his eye's shot up as he digested the information, "That's a strange core. What is your name?"

"Tom."

Olivander stared at him with a hard expression for a second. Then there was a slight change in his face. It was microscopic, but Tom couldn't help but suspect the old wand maker knew.

"Of course," he said putting the box back down and moving to another one a few steps down, "What house are you in?"

Olivander was just asking the question to fill the silence in his shop, but Tom knew that the man was relieved when he replied, "Gryffindor, we both are," he said. He pulled out a box and handed it to Tom.

"It is made out of oak like you're last one, dragon heartstring core," Olivander said. Tom pulled out the black wand and held it in his hand. He let his senses explore the wooden object. The oak felt familiar in his hand but all together wrong. It didn't feel right.

"Not this one," Tom replied handing it back to Olivander. The old man looked a little surprised; Tom wasn't his typical inept customer. He knew what it felt like to hold a wand and to belong to it. He would expect no less. They went through several more wands before Olivander gave him the correct one.

"I like the feel of the dragon heart string core," Tom said. "The woods that you are giving me aren't right though."

Olivander nodded and grabbed a box. He stared at it for a second before handing it to Tom, "It is dragon heart string core with yew wood."

Tom nodded and took the wand in his hand. It was the same brown color of his hair and had a slender handle with a design engraved around the end of it. He felt a familiar rush of energy move through his body and that craved to be released through the wooden object he held in his hand. He ignored it though and put the wand back in the box.

"That's the wand," Tom said. Olivander smiled and nodded. Seven galleons later Tom followed Scott out the door very happy with his purchase.

"Come on we're going to the book store now," Scott said pulling Tom towards Florish and Blott's. There was a long line coming out the front door.

"What's going on," Scott's dad asked. The man had his eyebrows drawn together and it was obvious he was trying very hard not to judge all the strange cultural aspects of the wizard world.

Scott shrugged and continued to walk them towards the store. Once they were closer they saw what the commotion was about.

"Gilderoy Lockhart is signing his biography," Scott muttered confused, being muggle born Scott wasn't familiar with the name.

"My dad knew him," Tom said quietly," or at least he had opinions about him. Apparently he's full of it; although, if you want the politically correct version, than he is one of the most successful wizards alive."

"He sounds like a celebrity," Scott's mom muttered as she examined the crowd. They made their way around the massive line that was flowing outside the door. Tom scanned the list of supplies that he needed.

"They are all written by this Lockhart guy," Scott said reading Tom's thoughts. The boys glanced up from the bookshelf in they were standing by and towards the table at the front. A blonde haired man was standing up in the front getting his picture taken with the one and only Harry Potter. For a moment Harry glanced over at Tom and exchanging sympathetic looks. Harry and he weren't exactly best friends; it was more of a mutual respect. The past year they both had a run in with Quirinus Quirrell and they had bonded a bit while recovering in the hospital wing. Harry was also one of two students at Hogwarts who knew about his past, the other being Scott. Tom busied himself with finding the books he needed trying his best to ignore the commotion that was going on behind him.

"Who's that?" Scott asked fifteen minutes later. Tom followed his best friend's gaze towards the line. Two men were conversing in what looked like quite an unfriendly conversation. The first had long blonde hair and an expensive looking black cloak. The other wore worn robes that were a bit faded. His head was full of bright orange hair.

"The blonde one is Lucius Malfoy. The other one must be Ron's dad," he replied nonchalantly.

Scott nodded, "Right you said something about that guy last year right."

Tom shifted uncomfortably, if he remembered correctly the year before he got into a bit of a skirmish with Draco Malfoy. Malfoy had tried to attack Scott and Tom had stepped in. He may have reiterated some of his father's opinions on Lucius Malfoy during the fight. Needless to say the opinions weren't positive.

The two men looked like they were getting violent now as they were standing close to each other very threateningly. "We should go Scott. The Malfoy family won't like you're parents."

Scott understood immediately what Tom was hinting at and the two quickly made their way towards the exit, after paying for their books of course.

On the way out the two boys passed the Weasleys. Tom brushed up against the younger one on his way out. In that moment, for a split second Tom felt a chill wire itself through his body. He was suddenly acutely aware of the oversized dark mark that spread across his chest and spiraled down both arms. The last time his tattoos acted up like this he had been standing face to face with the dark lord. At the time the dark lord had only been a face of course, plastered on the back of someone else's head.

Then as fast as the chill had come it passed. The moment had been so brief Tom almost dismissed it as nothing. Almost. Over the past year he had learned not to dismiss anything as nothing, for most of the time it was in fact something.


	2. Chapter 2

The halls of Hogwarts were deserted as Tom made his way to the common room to drop off his stuff. The train would be arriving in two days' time. Tom wasn't permitted to arrive with the rest of the students because of something about it putting the rest of the students in danger. Tom sighed. He suspected that Barty Crouch was settling for trying to inconvenience him at any time he deemed it possible. The man was a lunatic who wanted Tom in Azkaban more than anything. Unfortunately for him, Dumbledore wouldn't let him. It was a miracle Crouch had allowed Tom to visit Scott for a month over the summer. It had taken a four hour court trial to finally get him to sign the approval papers.

Tom took a good look at his bed. He didn't have much unpacking to do; he was required to leave all magical items at Hogwarts whenever he left the grounds, so most of his belongings never left this dormitory. Tom picked up his old wand from the night table, where he had left it. He studied the thing one last time before placing it in a box under the bed. It would hold residence there for the rest of its existence, with several other belongings that Tom couldn't bring himself to destroy. These items included the daily profit that announced his father's imprisonment and a silver chain that his brother used to wear.

Tom took one last glance around the room before heading back down the steps to the dungeons. He had to talk with Professor Snape about something. To his delight he found that the Professor was in his office at the moment.

"Hello professor," Tom said opening the door.

A pair of black eyes flicked up at Tom from the desk before returning to the paper they were previously engrossed in, "The school year hasn't started yet. You haven't already found a dangerous hazard that is threatening all of our lives yet have you," he said sarcastically a small sneer forming on his lips.

Tom shook his head and sat down in the chair that faced the professor's desk. "No I wanted to talk to you about something else."

Snape looked rather annoyed that Tom was interrupting his afternoon as his.

"What?" he asked sharply.

"I was wondering if you would tutor me this year," Tom asked quietly.

That caught the professor off guard and he didn't respond for a second, "You are already seven years ahead of the rest of your classmates. Why would you need a tutor?" Snape inquired.

"Last year, when I fought Quirrell, I lost… bad," Tom said, his thoughts retreating back into his first year at Hogwarts, "If I was anyone else I would be dead. That can't happen again. I'm not going to learn anything from second year schooling. I need someone to train me in advanced magic."

Snape was silent for a second, "Wouldn't your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher be a little more appropriate teacher for you."

Tom openly laughed when he heard this, "Yes I would much rather learn from the great Gilderoy Lockhart, I'm sure I will walk away enlightened after I get an earful of his various achievements," he said sarcastically.

Snape's face did not actively smile, but his eyes glinted in such a way that Tom knew he found his comment funny. When Tom's laughter died down he turned serious and looked pleadingly at the Professor.

"Please professor it has to be you," he said quietly.

"Why," Snape challenged.

Tom was caught off guard by that question. He didn't really know why he wanted Snape to teach him and not one of the other professors. He was about to say just that when he thought of a better idea," I want to learn Occlumency," Tom said. It wasn't a lie, it would be a useful skill for later in life; however, he did not come to the dungeon because he wanted to learn that skill and that skill only. He had heard his father talk about Snape's ability to block out intruders from his thoughts one time in the past. The memory was dim and might not have been accurate, but Tom was a bit desperate to have Snape as a teacher. If that worked as an excuse for why it had to be him then learning Occlumency was as good a training as any.

Snape raised a dark eyebrow, "Because every fourteen year old has the need to prevent skilled wizards from invading their mind," Snape said sarcastically.

"When I was fighting Quirrell he unwrapped his turban and I saw Voldemort. He said he could hear me thinking," Tom said smoothly.

Snape sighed seeing no way out of it, "Fine once a week, Saturdays at noon," he said sternly, "You are to show up on time every time. I don't care if you have plans or not. You will work, no slacking off."

Tom grinned and stoody up, "I will Professor. I promise."

Tom turned and headed out the door happily.

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><p>The two days passed in a blur of boredom. It was incredible how impossible it was to find something to do around the empty castle. The two days did eventually come to an end though and finally the welcome dinner arrived. Tom had spent the day wondering around the castle aimlessly talking to some portraits and saying hello to some of the ghosts. As the sky started to darken he knew that the other students would be arriving soon and so he went out to wait for them.<p>

This year was the first year he saw the carriages. They were large enough to fit about ten people and were being pulled by some bony creatures that slightly resembled horses. Tom furrowed his eyebrows; he could have sworn that someone had told him the carriages pulled themselves. He shrugged and dismissed it though. He must have been thinking of something else. Scott came on what must have been the twentieth one with him was a worried looking girl who Tom recognized to be Hermione Granger.

"Sup Scott long time no see," He said as they pulled in.

"Hey Tom," Scott said happily.

Granger looked up confused, "Where did you come from?" she asked.

"On one of the earlier carriages," Tom lied smoothly. The other students still thought he was a normal kid and he had to keep it that way.

"Where were you on the train?" she asked again.

"Here and there," Tom replied vaguely.

She was about to dig more into the issue when Scott interrupted her, "Harry and Ron weren't on the train," Scott said.

Granger immediately forgot about Tom's odd appearance and a worried crease formed between her eyebrows, "Ron's family was on the train but they were both missing," she said.

"That's odd," Tom murmured his thoughts flew back to Voldemort. He was still out there somewhere and it was very possible that he may have attacked Harry or something.

"We should go to the Great Hall before we're late," Scott said, interrupting both of the other two's thoughts. Scott and Granger exchanged theories as they headed down the corridors. Tom didn't participate in the conversation much. Granger must really care for the boys because she looked like she was getting physically sick in their absence. It was quite the three sixty from last year, if he recalled correctly they fought a lot, specifically Weasley and Granger.

When they entered the Great Hall it was decorated grandly with the ceiling the very picture of a clear night sky. Tom had already seen it earlier as he had helped prepare some of it but he had to admit that it was just as impressive the second time around.

The three sat together in the middle of the table next to some of the other second years. Tom wasn't particularly happy about their seat choice. He preferred situations that didn't involve so much social interaction; however, it would have been rude to just leave Granger at the moment so he was forced to sit with them. Scott was next to him on his left and on his right was Neville Longbottom. Across from them were Granger, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan.

"Hey you haven't found Harry yet?" Finnegan asked when they sat down.

Granger shook her head, "No no one has seen him."

Tom tuned their worried chatter out and looked up at the teachers table. It was relatively full and he recognized most of his old Professors sitting up there.

"Professor Snape is missing," he murmured.

Longbottom glanced up at the table, "Yeah he is that's weird." Thomas and Finnegan were turning their attention to the missing potions teacher now too. Tom hadn't meant for them to hear him, unfortunately they had.

"Where do you reckon he is?" Thomas asked.

"I bet he's moping about not getting the Defense post," Finnegan contemplated.

"That Lockhart guy got it right," Scott asked.

Tom nodded," Yup he's the one with the blonde hair who looks like he used a shoe shining charm on his teeth."

"Don't be rude," Granger said sharply. Tom shrugged and ignored her. After another fifteen minutes the ceremony started. The sorting hat came down the aisle singing some song that Tom didn't care to listen to and all the first years followed. Tom watched as the first years got sorted. After a red head girl, who was presumably Ron Weasley's sister, got sorted into Gryffindor Tom tuned them out. Finally the feast started.

Tom grabbed two plates worth of food and started to dig in. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a whisp of a black cloak.

"Snapes back," Scott whispered under his breath. The second year Gryffindors started talking about the usual back to school stuff. Everyone was talking about the latest and greatest of their summer vacation.

"What you do Tom?" Finnegan asked.

"Tom came and visited my house over the summer," Scott answered for him, "We did boxing camp."

"Boxing. That's cool my brother is really into that kind of stuff back at home," Thomas said.

Scott grinned, "Really? My dad is a coach, he had us in boot camp over the summer. It was Tom's first time fighting, he sucked."

Their conversation was interrupted by the two Weasley twins.

"Hey guess where Ron and Harry went," one of them (Tom decided to call that one George because it was impossible to tell the difference) said.

"Where," Hermione asked giving them her full attention.

"They flew here," Fred said.

"In our dads flying car," George continued

"Over half the muggles in England," Fred finished.

"They wouldn't," Longbottom gaped.

"They did," George replied.

"They'll be expelled," Hermione said extremely flustered.

Fred grinned, "Mom's gonna kill em." Both twins cracked up. Hermione looked at them like they were crazy which only made them laugh more.

Dinner proceeded after that with talk of all the different punishments that were going to be imposed on the two. Tom shoveled his fourth plate of food down and was finally starting to feel full when Dumbledore gave his speech and they started heading towards the common room. The portrait of the fat lady was enjoying the return of all her students and the attention that she was getting as a result. The common room seemed more alive than ever that night. Scott and Tom sat down and were playing a game of wizard chests when Harry and Ron walked in. Immediately the boys were swarmed by a bombardment of questions about their day. Even Scott got up to go listen to their explanation. Tom considered going but voted against it. He had had enough socializing for one night. Tom turned and headed up to the dormitory. After all of the days commotion he figured he deserved a good nights sleep.

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><p>Hope everyone likes my story so far so press the magical button and review please some feedback would make my day.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Sorry for the delay in updating. I didn't have acess to the computer over the weekend. Anyway I hope you like the new chapter, nothing too earth shattering happens but I thought it was important to get their first day of school in. Hope you like the new chapter.

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><p>Tom woke up that mourning to Scott shaking him.<p>

"Urrgggggg," Tom moaned, "It's just the first day of school Scott," he complained.

"Yes well hurry up," Scott said dismissing Tom's complaints immediately. Tom sighed and slipped into his robes. Soon the two boys were heading down to the Great Hall.

"So I started reading some of Lockhart's books and I don't think they are that bad," Scott said as they headed down the stairs.

"You've got to be kidding me," Tom said giving his friend a worried look.

"Well they aren't really. I mean if you look past the part where Lockhart says all this stuff about how great of a wizard he is and pay attention to his actual achievements, the guy is pretty impressive," Scott said lightly.

Tom shook his head, "The man is full of it Scott. I bet half that crap is made up."

"All of it is stuff that can be proven," Scott objected," I mean someone would notice if the Bandon Banshee was still around."

Tom rolled his eyes, "I don't care what he says he did. A wizard who actually has seen battle acts different. Lockhart simply doesn't act like he has fought anything in his life."

"You would know," Scott said sarcastically.

"Ever notice how Snape seems to have eyes in the back of his head," Tom said, reaching for the first example he could think of.

Scott shrugged, "Not really I figured it was a wizard thing."

"It might be a teacher thing during class, but it never goes away," Tom explained. "Last year on my first night here I had a nightmare. Snape was in the dungeon, sleeping at the time and he heard me yelling in my sleep and came up to the Gryffindor common room because he thought there was some kind of intruder. Do you know how alert you have to be hear someone yelling in their sleep who is half way across the castle? I think it's impossible actually. He is just so used to that life that it's second nature to be like that now. McGonagall, Dumbledore, and a lot of the other teachers are like that too. Lockhart is probably the most oblivious person in the world though. He wouldn't stand a chance against the Bandon Banshee and he most certainly doesn't act like he fought anything more dangerous than a fluffy bear."

Scott sighed looking defeated as the two settled in to the Gryffindor table for breakfast. "Suit yourself," Scott mumbled in response. Tom knew that Scott still didn't believe him though. This wouldn't be the last discussion they had on the topic.

Tom looked up to see a black owl swooping down towards the two. It landed gracefully in front of Scott holding a letter between its brown beak. Scott grabbed it looking at the owl strangely. Tom raised an eyebrow at the letter.

"It said that they rented the owl," Scott said his eyes scanning the letter. He grinned and held up a picture for Tom to see. The people in the photo were stationary, so it must have been taken with a muggle camera. In the picture stood ten boys all with boxing gloves on their hands. To the right was Scott's dad. The word Coach was written in big letters across his shirt. Tom found himself standing in the back of the picture smiling. It was strange to see himself standing there motionless of the piece of paper.

"Camp picture," Scott said, "They said it's for you." Scott was about to say something else when another owl came swooping down from the sky. It hit the table in front of Tom and slid a little until it finally stopped in front of Ron.

The red head stared at the owl stunned for a moment before going pale. He reached for the red letter the owl was carrying.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" yelled a woman's voice. The letter continued to chew out poor Ron for stealing the car. By the end of the letter the second year had the attention of every student in the entire Great Hall. Tom could hear some students from the Slytherin table laughing as Hermione pulled the traumatized Ron out of the room. Harry followed close behind.

"I'm almost happy my parents are muggles just so they can't do that," Scott muttered as the two left for Herbology.

"Yeah," Tom muttered. He wondered for a moment what his own mother's voice would have sounded like if she had sent a howler. He quickly pushed the thought from his mind almost as soon as it had entered. Thinking about the past would only make him depressed.

As the two boys neared the Herbology greenhouse a man, no doubt Lockhart, in a bright turquoise robe became visible. The man stood talking with a boy that Tom recognized to be Harry.

"I blame myself," Lockhart was saying as Tom and Scott walked passed. Tom snorted as Lockhart proceeded to say something particularly obnoxious.

Herbology class was slow. They were working with mandrakes, a plant Tom wasn't exactly fond of. The thing screamed too much and was far too needy to be practical for anything Tom deemed necessary. None the less he performed flawlessly with the plant as this was by no means his first encounter with the thing. He ended up finishing early and helping Scott with his mandrake.

When the class finally ended the two were the first out the door.

"What's next," Tom asked.

"Lockhart's class," Scott replied happily. Tom groaned. "I bet he'll be a fine teacher Tom just you wait and see."

"I'm sure," Tom said sarcastically. It only took about ten minutes into the class to know that he was right. Lockhart handed out a quiz. On it was a healthy amount of questions about Lockhart's personal life. Tom was tempted to write exceedingly arrogant for number seven 'What is Gilderoy Lockhart's best trait'. The only thing that stopped him was the fear of Crouch using something little like that to prove that he was inherently evil. Thus instead he sat there and made up something that Lockhart would hopefully find flattering.

After Tom finished the quiz he returned to his desk and tried not to fall asleep. It didn't work and soon he was nodding off. The classroom faded and he was lying down in a dimly lit cave. His father stood in front of him demonstrating some spell

"Peskipiksy Pestronomi," he said waving his wand. Tom sat up with a jolt. I front of him wasn't his father, it was Lockhart. He had cast the spell, not his father. Tom looked around dazed before realizing what was going on. Around him several pixies were zooming around the room grabbing at the second years. Lockhart was looking rather panicked and everyone was rushing out of the room. Tom felt a tug on his robes as one of the pixies tried to drag him into the air. Tom took his wand and zapped the thing before grabbing Scott and dragging him out of the room. As the two hurried away Tom let out a loud laugh. Peskipiksy Pestronomi wasn't a real spell. Lockhart was an incompetent idiot. He happened to be in charge of educating the entire upcoming generation of wizards. It really wasn't all that funny, but it didn't matter Tom laughed all the way to Potions class.


	4. Chapter 4

Tom hurried the stairs towards the dungeons. His first lesson with Snape was today and he didn't want to be late. His new wand weighed heavy in his pocket. He hadn't really gotten a chance to try it out yet. Sure he used it on some basic spells that were in the second year curriculum, but these spells were so incredibly easy to caste they didn't count.

Snape was sitting behind his desk grading papers when Tom walked in.

"You're early," Snape said without looking up.

"You said not to be late sir," Tom replied. Snape's lip curled a bit when Tom replied, but he seemed to accept the response.

"Sit in that chair and give me your wand,"Snape commanded.

Tom sat down obediently but paused before handing the Professor his wand," Won't I need it sir."

"No Occlemency is a skill that needs to be learned without a wand. It is extremely advanced and if you think that you are incapable of following instruction then please leave now," Snape sneered coldly.

Tom didn't reply instead he simply held out his wand to the professor who took it swiftly.

"Occlemency is an art and it is of utmost importance that you first understand this. If you wish to learn the art you must first respect its difficulty, meaning that you are to dedicate yourself fully into mastering it," Snape stated.

Tom nodded taking in his every word," I promised I would take everything seriously sir," Tom assured him.

"The trick to Occlemency is to clear your mind of everything. Empty yourself of all your emotions and thoughts. If they aren't there then your enemy will have no way of obtaining them," Snape explained, "I am going to use Legilimancy to enter your mind. If a wizard is particularly powerful they will be capable of doing this without speaking or using a wand. This skill is complex and few wizards have ever been known to achieve any level of success with it."

"Voldemort was one of them," Tom said.

"Yes and I believe Augustine York has also achieved some level of accomplishment with the skill. I don't know the extent of his skill; however, it is fair to assume that Voldemort was far better at it than he was," Snape said. Tom clenched his jaw at the mention of his father's name. It made sense that his father would know how to use Legilimency. It would explain how the man always seemed to know what Tom and his brother were thinking. It would also explain why Occlemency was one of the few skills they were never taught. It would have prevented his father from being able to keep tabs on the two boys.

"I am going to use the incantation to intrude into your thoughts. I want you to push me out. Don't let me read your thoughts," Snape said.

He raised his wand and pointed it at Tom. He had all of thirty seconds to brace himself before Snape cast the spell.

"Legilimens"

The potions master's office vanished and Tom was sent back into his memories.

_Scott stood in front of him with sweat dripping down his face. His hands had boxing gloves on them and he was holding them defensively in front of his face. Tom felt a padded helmet on his head as the two best friends circled each other in the ring. Tom recognized the memory immediately as one he had made over the summer at boxing camp. That summer had been the happiest time of his life to date. _

_The scene changed going back a little bit more in time. Quirrell was standing over him. He was unwrapping the turban on his head exposing Voldemort who was living on the back side of the man's head. _

_The memory shifted again going farther into Tom's past. He was reliving the nightmare that used to plague him every time he shut his eyes. Jonathan stood in front of his bed talking harshly._

_"__He did it I know he did," Jonathan was saying._

_"__Did what?" Tom asked sleepily._

_"__Killed her," Jonathan replied back harshly_.

Tom started to become aware of the second set of eyes that were watching the scene. Snape was in this vision with him taking in his every emotion.

_Tom shook his head, "He wouldn't do that."_

Tom started to feel a panicked feeling in his chest. Snape couldn't see this. It was a personal, and private. Furthermore memories like this showed weakness, weakness that he had learned could only give others leverage on him.

_"__Not everyone in the world is good Tom. Father isn't going to rehabilitate himself and we will never be your perfect family," Jonathan sneered, "I'm going to ask him. Let's see what he says happened."_

_"__No," Tom replied panicked, "He'll hurt you."_

_The vision shifted, now Jonathan was staring at someone else with his hard eyes," Long live Harry Potter." He said it like one would say their final words. Not in a sad way, nor regretful, but rather with resolve._

Tom tried with all his might to push Snape out. He couldn't see the end of this.

_That's when the fire started. Jonathan was no longer in Tom's sight, nothing was. Every inch of his body burned, screaming with pain, begging for relief. The fire took over his entire conscious. _

The vision disintegrated and he felt himself in the chair again. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He was breathing heavy from exertion.

Snape stood where he was a minute ago not looking exhausted in the slightest.

"I told you to clear your mind. Compartmentalize your memories. How do you expect to shield an intruder from your emotions if you have them so predominantly displayed for them to take?" Snape said. His dark eyes were hard and showed no sign of acknowledgment of anything he had witnessed.

Tom didn't know what to say to him. He had no excuse for being incapable to perform. He had never done a spell before and simply gotten no results. It was uncharted territory.

"Again," Snape said. Immediately he raised his wand.

"Legilimens"

_A man with disheveled black hair that fell just past his ears stood three feet in front of him. The moon cast a dark shadow across his face making him look particularly menacing. On the ground a between them lay a crippled body. It was a woman, her body wasn't moving. She looked dead, but Tom knew better. She was alive, but only just._

"_Try the spell again," the man barked. _

"_I-I'm tired," Tom complained. Judging from his short haircut he was probably about ten years old at the moment._

"_Does it look like I care boy," the man said threateningly. _

"_Father-" Tom started to protest but he was cut off. His father waved his wand and Tom collapsed onto the ground wriggling in pain. The man stopped after a solid five minutes had passed. _

"_Perform the spell," he commanded. _

_Tom gathered himself standing up and pointing his arm shakily at the muggle woman._

"_A-a-"Tom stuttered. _

"_Good lord boy," his father shouted frustrated. He moved and pointed his own wand at the woman," Avada Kedavra."_

_If the woman looked dead before she certainly looked dead now. Her body sagged into the ground losing any trace of life._

"_That is how you do it boy," his father roared. Tom flinched the man was angry now and there would be no calming him._

"_I-I'm sorry," Tom pleaded. His father's lavender eyes bored into him. _

"_One more chance," his father said. He grabbed Tom's arm and soon the two were in a forest. In front of them was a camp site, no doubt one inhabited by muggles. Tom's father dragged his son down to the lone tent that was set up in the center of the area. He pointed his wand at it and the thing unzipped silently. A single man lay in there asleep. His father leaned towards Tom._

"_One try. That's all you get. If you fail I'll kill him. Then we can go find another. We stop when you do it right," he whispered._

_Tom's ten year old self was shaking violently as he pointed his wand at the man. His throat felt hot as he resisted tears. _

"_Avada Kedavra," he whispered. A green flash came from his wand._

Tom was suddenly back in Snape's office. His shirt was soaked through now and his hands were shaking violently. He looked up at Snape who looked at Tom stonily. Tom wanted desperately to disappear at that moment.

"As I said you war your emotions too plainly. If you ever wish to become a master of Occlemency you must learn to control your thoughts," Snape said seriously," Learn to control yourself."

His words were not harsh or sarcastic by any means. The tone he used was completely out of character, "I'm sorry sir." Tom said quietly

"I am not Augustine York," Snape said simply, "You aren't going to get it on your first try. I don't expect you to. Children are simply to pathetically emotional for anyone to expect them to be capable of Occlemency. You insist on learning it though and have good cause. Over the next week you are to learn to compartmentalize your memories and lock them away to a place where you can access them only when necessary. Perhaps next week you will make a miniscule amount of progress."

Tom nodded and stood shakily to his feet.

"Thank you professor," he muttered. Tom looked over his shoulder at Snape one last time before leaving. Written across his face plainly was a look of sympathy and understanding. Gratitude flooded through Tom's chest. This is why it had to be Snape. No other teacher would understand.


	5. Chapter 5

Tom walked slowly through the court yard taking in the scenery. It was a gorgeous day outside, the sun was shining brightly down onto the grass giving it a startling green hue. The air hadn't yet taken on the full crispness of fall but it had lost the dry heat of the summer. It was the weekend so Tom didn't have to worry about any school work. For the first time in his life he decided to just walk around and enjoy the day. Scott was off in the library studying for a test they had on Monday. Apparently transfigurations was "difficult" and studying was necessary to pass the class.

Tom lowered himself onto a bench that was positioned in the middle of the court yard and watched the happenings. A few first years were walking around practicing spells on each other. None of them had successfully cast a spell in yet. In the opposite corner of the courtyard there was a dark haired Hufflepuff snogging a brown haired Ravenclaw. They looked like they were about Tom's age, so they were probably in their fourth year. A steady stream of students walked out of the castle, all moving to a destination with purpose.

Tom stared blankly at the scene before him and started to empty his mind. He tried his best to push out his thoughts. All he needed to pass through his head was the image of what was happening in front of him now. He was sitting there for a solid half an hour when he started to think he was getting the hang of it. Of course, the fact that he thought he was doing well clearly meant that he hadn't stopped his stream of thoughts effectively.

After another half an hour he was interrupted. A group of eight Slytherins had just emerged from the castle. All of them were dressed in quidditch robes and held brand new shiny brooms in their hands. He didn't plan to confront them. Unfortunately, they had every intent of interrupting his mourning.

"Well will you look at that," one of them jeered loudly. "A Gryffindor out here all alone. What's the matter don't you have any friends."

The boy next to the speaker snorted, "That's the stupid second year," he said, "He's supposed to be in his fourth year but he was dumber than a giant so they stuck him with the first years."

Tom smiled lightly at their ignorance, "Yes I've heard that I am extraordinarily lacking intellectually. You see I am known well for my incapability to use a wand. Wouldn't you agree Draco?" Tom shot a broad grin at the blonde haired boy. If possible Malfoy got paler than he already was.

Draco stared at him for another moment, "He's not worth it guys lets go. We have to get to practice."

"Yes you all do seem to have better things to do then mess with the idiotic likes of me," Tom replied happily. It is amazing how cowardly the young Slytherin generation was. After one encounter Malfoy was terrified of Tom. It was magnificent.

Malfoy flinched as Tom rose to his feet to leave. He laughed heartily as he walked back into the castle.

"That was impressive," a high pitched voice said cutting into his conscience. Tom looked up to see a girl with curly brown hair that fell in winglets down to her shoulders. Her striking blue eyes bore into him expectantly.

"Hi uh," Tom started to say. He knew the girl form his classes, she was a second year Gryffindor too. He was having a mental block at the moment though, and couldn't remember her name.

"My name is Eleanor Ashdown. You're going to call me Elly," the girl said holding out her hand and waiting for him to take it.

He shook it, "Tom." He replied. She raised an eyebrow at him as if she was waiting for him to say more.

"Well you have a last name don't you," she said impatiently.

Tom was a little shocked by her bluntness. He had grown used to not telling anyone his last name. Riddle was his father, not him. He felt unusually relaxed today though and a last name didn't seem like that big of a deal at the moment.

"Riddle," Tom said.

Elly smiled, "What did you do to Malfoy?" she asked.

Tom shrugged," We got into a fight last year. Nothing major or anything, I just disarmed him," he replied. Tom didn't tell her that he had disarmed Malfoy without using his wand and he left out the part where he called Lucius Malfoy a coward. These minor details weren't exactly something you shared with the average stranger.

" You're not telling me everything," Elly told him, "Malfoy wouldn't have laid off like that if you just beat him." Tom stared at the girl speechless.

She just raised an eyebrow," Well are you going to tell me the rest of the story or not?"

"Um-"Tom began; he needed to think of a lie and quick.

He hesitated a moment too long though because Elly crossed her arms glancing at him with some vague annoyance, "Come talk to me when you can speak again kay?"

Tom nodded silently and watched her leave slightly confused. He sighed and turned, he had his second Occlemency lesson today and he didn't want to be late.

"Unggggggg," Tom yelled in frustration. His shirt was sticking to his body from sweat and his heart beat wildly. He and Snape had been practicing for several hours now, finding no success. Tom wasn't used to simply not being able to do something.

Snape raised a black eyebrow at him," Did you think this was going to be easy," he sneered.

"No sir," Tom replied trying to expel his frustration.

"You need to learn how to control yourself," Snape snapped, "Your emotions are too close to the surface. This is more than just an Occlemency technique. If you can't control your anger in a duel then your pathetic attempts at fighting won't last long enough for you to even realize your dead."

Tom sighed exasperated, "Maybe I'm just worn out at the moment."

"That's likely," Snape said his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Your enemy has no intention to wait until you are well rested."

Tom ran his hand through his hair finding his frustration surfacing again.

"I know sir," he replied defeated. He looked at the ground and was about to open his mouth again when he heard something. It was so faint that at first he wasn't even sure whether it was really or not at first. He looked over at his professor who was about to give him more instruction. Tom held up his hand to show him to wait a moment in silence for a second.

Tom closed his eyes, putting all attention into trying to hear. After a moment the noise happened again. It wasn't a noise though it was a voice. _– rip you Let me-_ that was all Tom heard before the sound faded again getting farther away. He stood up immediately.

"Sir, do you hear that?" he asked urgently.

Snape shook his head. Tom heard it say something else but it was too faint to distinguish what it was. Whatever it was it was moving farther away. Tom ran out of the office quickly trying to follow it. The sound of Snape's footsteps behind him were making it hard to hear though. Tom hurried up several flights of stairs following the sound. By the time he had exited the dungeons the words became clear.

_Come to me. Let me rip you. Let me tear you. Let me kill you. Yes let me kill you_, it was saying in a gleeful tone.

"It's going to hurt someone," Tom told Snape, who was still behind him. He ran up another flight of stairs when the voice seemed to disappear. The sound ceased and Tom came to a stop.

"What is it?" Snape asked annoyed.

"I don't know a voice. It's gone through," Tom replied breathlessly.

"If you wish to end your lessons you should just say it," Snape said extremely annoyed.

Tom shook his head, "I swear I head something," he exclaimed.

"That's quite fascinating Tom,"Snape sneered sarcastically, "Meet me in my office again next week. Perhaps you will have an epiphany and learn some self-control in the meantime."

With that Snape turned, his black cloak sweeping behind him, and walked back down into the dungeons. Tom watched as the man climbed down the stairs before turning and heading back to the Gryffindor tower. He had a lot to talk with Scott about tonight.

* * *

><p>AN Hope everyone is likeing my story so far. Thanks to MissVenusVixen, TomCCCS, and Xterker23 for reviewing. I hope I can add a few more names to this list next chapter hint hint wink wink. Anywho thanks for reading


	6. Chapter 6

Weeks flowed by at Hogwarts uneventfully. Every week end Tom continued his lessons, and every weekend he found absolutely no success. It was infuriating. He had always thought himself to be rather controlled, obviously he was wrong.

Currently he was sitting at a table in the library across from Scott. The two had a transfigurations test the next day and Scott needed help with some of material.

"Fera Verto," Scott said pointing his wand at a large rat that was sitting on the table in front of the two. The rat let out a squealing noise and tried to bolt. Tom lifted it into the air quickly before it got away. For a moment he briefly wondered if this counted as cruel and unusual punishment. It was the fifth time in a row that Scott had zapped the poor thing.

"You are waving it too much," Tom said, "This spell works best when you hold your wand more steady."

Scott nodded and tried again. This time the rat's fur turned a shade of bright pink although it didn't seem to notice anything.

Scott stared at it for a moment, willing the thing to change into a cup.

"I don't know what to tell you," Tom snorted out, "Its pink."

"I noticed," Scott sulked.

"You must be directing your magic wrong," Tom contemplated, once he had finished laughing.

"What?" Scott asked confused.

"A wand is only a tool used to refine your magic. It doesn't physically do the magic, you are the one who does it. If you were to somehow directing you're magic to make the rat pink, then I bet it wouldn't matter what incantation you were saying," Tom explained.

Scott furrowed his eyebrows, "Of course," Scott said sarcastically," Why didn't I think of that?"

Tom ignored him and sunk deep into his own thoughts. Directing magic was something very advanced; most wizards didn't ever learn it to any extent in their life time. His father had started teaching him the basics two year ago. The fact that he had waited until he was twelve was a testament to the difficulty of the technique. He was taught the three unforgivable curses when he was eight.

That's when the idea hit him. Channeling his magic wandless could create a powerful shield. When his father had been arrested that was the technique they were working on, how to cast protego without a wand. Tom never mastered the technique but he understood the gist of it. Legilimency was more or less a spell, if he made the shield smaller, and more concentrated, it might be able to work as a good Occlemency technique.

Tom stood up and started heading out of the door towards Snape's office.

"Wait, where are you going?" Scott shouted from behind him.

Tom spun around and pointed his wand at the rat, "Fera Verto." The rat transformed into a small goblet before toppling over.

"There the rat is now a cup," Tom called behind him, "I have to go talk to Professor Snape."

Tom ran down the stairs and through the dungeon, bursting into the potions master's office. Snape was rummaging through potion ingredients.

"Professor I want to try one more time," he blurted out upon entrance.

Snape's dark eyes glanced coldly over at Tom, "I see you couldn't wait until tomorrow. Obviously you have learned an abundance of self-control," he said sarcastically.

"Sir is your way the only way to find success with Occlemency," Tom asked ignoring Snape's comment.

"It is the simplest method and I have no intention of teaching you another one of which you will be incapable of doing," Snape sneered.

"I think I know a way. You wouldn't have to teach me anything," Tom replied quickly.

"And what would your genious proposal be?" Snape asked. The man couldn't have looked more uninterested if he tried.

Tom didn't say anything instead he looked waved his hand at a container on Snape's shelf. It fell to the ground but just before it shattered it stopped its fall. Tom lowered his arm slightly and it plopped itself gently on the ground. All of which he did without his wand.

Snape didn't look the slightest bit impressed of course, "Your point?" Snape asked impatiently.

"I think that if I can make a smaller version of the protego curse around my mind it might work in stead of having good self-control," Tom explained. He examined his professor's face carefully hoping that the man was convinced.

"One try today," Snape said unhappily. Tom sat down eagerly into the chair and waited for Snape to cast the spell.

"Legilimens"

_Jonathan and Tom ducked behind a couch that was cast onto its side. Around the two the room was in disarray. A woman's voice rang through the room calling several incantations. There must have been a duel going on. For a moment the two boys just hid there shaking in fear watching the reflection of different flashing lights in the broken mirror that was on the floor a few feet away from them._

Tom's conscience watched the scene stunned for a moment. He knew this was his own memory because it was familiar. He felt as if he were watching a movie that he had seen ages ago. He didn't remember the details, but the outcome was clear. This was the day his mother died.

_The flashes continued. Some of them were green and that scared little Tom. He didn't know the lights came from killing curses at the time but he knew they were bad._

At this point Tom remembered that he was supposed to be blocking Snape out. He took in his three year old self in one last time before turning his attention away from the scene. He stretched his senses out looking for the sixth one that he had learned to recognize over the years, magic. He imagined a thin blue layer of protection around his mind.

For a moment the memory faded and he saw Snape again through his eyes. As fast as the real world returned though it went away and the memory returned.

_Tom heard his voice pierce through the sounds of crashing objects, "Wake up Mommy," he said quietly. _

_Tom was standing over her fallen body. The woman's face once again became clear in Tom's memory. Her hair was a brown- almost blonde- color. Her nose was small and delicate and fit in her face well with her high cheek bones. Tom felt a lump form in his throat. His face was shaped like hers, like a pear. He felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him away. Little Tom turned to look up at the stranger. At the time he didn't know the man, in time though he would come to know him as Father._

The vision faded and Tom felt himself frozen in his chair, unable to move. Snape was breathing heavily now his wand lowered.

"It worked," Snape breathed, shocked.

Tom didn't reply he just sat there and stared. That was his mother. He couldn't remember her face a few weeks ago. Furthermore, his father had been there.

_His father had killed her._

No that couldn't be true. He would have known if he had done it. Tom would've known better than to defend the man when Jonathan accused him years ago.

_Jonathan knew he killed her._

The day before he died Jonathan had been argueing with Tom. He was convinced that their father had been innocent. Tom felt sick to his stomach.

"Professor," Tom said in a voice just above a whisper. Snape had been talking about Occlemency, about what Tom's new method.

"What?" Snape snapped annoyed that Tom had interrupted him.

"He did it didn't he?" Tom asked. His eyes desperately searched Snape's face for denial. It wasn't there.

Tom stood up," I'm going to dinner." Without another word Tom fled the room and walked up to the Great Hall.

Scott was waiting for him there.

"Hey Tom look I did it. That stupid rat is a cup now," he cried excitedly.

Tom smiled half-heartedly," That's great." He sat there silent for the rest of the meal as Scott talked excitedly about how he mastered the spell. For the first time since he had met the boy Tom didn't listen to the word he said.

"Are you ok?" Scott asked towards the end of dinner, "You haven't eaten anything. I mean no offence man, but usually you eat like a pig."

Tom put a fake smile on his face," I'm fine Scott, just tired."

"Alright," Scott said, though he obviously didn't believe him.

"I think I'm going to call it a night," Tom said, standing up to leave.

Scott stood up too, "I'm coming with you."

Tom didn't respond instead he just let Scott fall into step with him as the two headed towards the tower. When they turned the corner they saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione standing in the middle of the hall staring at something.

That wasn't what made Tom think something was wrong. It was the cat that was hanging stiff in front of the three. Tom rushed forward to see what was going on. Written on the wall beside the cat was "The chamber of secrets has been opened, enemies of the Heir beware" in blood.

Tom felt a wave of energy move through his dark marks. This day couldn't get any worse.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the night passed in a blur of confusion. Was the cat dead or was it not dead? It's not dead, well then can they fix the cat? They can, so what got the cat? To be determined, but popular opinion seems to think Potter did it. What to do with the students who are currently looking at a blood stained wall? Send them to their dorms. Well that's a brilliant idea! Let's send all of the students to the dorm with no explanation. That will surely make everything better. Truly, sometimes people really need to think a little.

It was only natural that once the fat lady's portrait closed behind them the Gryffindor students start gossiping about the whole fiasco.

"You think he did it?" Scott asked Tom quietly.

Tom snorted, "Potter? Nah, he couldn't. I mean I don't even know any spells that could petrify a cat. Potter doesn't have the magical capability to pull off a spell like that," Tom said lightly, such a suggestion was possibly the most absurd thing he had heard in a long time.

Scott nodded accepting Tom's answer whole heartedly, "Who did then?"

Tom shrugged, "It's rather strange that someone would petrify a cat don't you think?"

Scott furrowed his eyebrows," Huh?"

"Petrifying is some pretty dark magic. On top of that using any dark magic in Hogwarts is pretty risky. It's a lot to go through to petrify a cat," Tom explained simply.

"Filch seemed pretty upset. Someone could have done it to get to Filch," Scott supplied.

"Why not just petrify Filch?" Tom shot back.

Scott didn't have an answer for that one.

Tom nodded and thought about it for another minute, "It doesn't make much sense. You wouldn't happen to know what the Chamber of Secrets is would you?" Tom asked doubtfully.

"Not a clue," Scott said with a deep sigh.

"It has something to do with it all. Perhaps the point of that was a warning," Tom was talking to himself now more than he was talking to Scott.

Scott shrugged, "Whys the reason they did it matter? It happened so now all we need to know is who did it."

"The reason is everything," Tom mumbled inaudibly.

"What?" Scott asked.

"Nothing, we should probably go to bed," Tom said suddenly feeling exhausted. With in minutes he was snoring

"_Why are we doing this?" a four year old Tom asked impatiently._

"_You need to learn to read your enemies," his father replied harshly._

_Jonathan pointed at a passing man, "He is really mad," Jonathan piped._

"_Why?" their father asked. _

"_Cause his jaw is all clenchy,"Jonathan said seriously._

"_Don't play games with me boy," their father roared. He grabbed both of them by the arm and soon they were both sitting in the floor of their cave again._

"_What did I do?" Jonathan asked boldly. _

"_You will take my lessons seriously do you understand me?" he barked. The vein that ran through his temple was bulging angrily. The boys had only been with the man for a year but they already recognized what this meant. The painful red curse was coming soon._

"_He was angry because he lost something," Tom shouted out quickly. His father who had been towering over Jonathan spun on his heels, his violet eyes boring violently into his other son._

"_How do you know?" he demanded._

"_The man was patting his pockets like he needed something, but they were empty. Also he was walking real fastly," Tom said shaking, he felt like he was going to cry as the man stared at him angrily._

"_Why is that important?" his father asked his hand moving closer to his wand._

"_Cause angry people make stakes," Tom squeaked. _

"_They make _mis_takes boy, don't you speak proper English," He scolded harshly. He stared at his son for another moment before throwing his head back and letting out a loud laugh, both boys let out a sigh of relief, they had pleased hi. There wouldn't be any punishment tonight._

"_If you know the reason then you know that much more about your enemy boys. You are to live by those words boy. Know your enemy," he laughed for another moment before finaly turning serious again. Suddently he turned on his feet and stuck his face in front of Jonathan's. _

"_If you don't know your enemy you will die boy understand me," He said in a low threatening whisper._

"_Yeah," Jonathan mumbled back. Tom's heart skipped a beat as he momentarily thought that Jonathan had angered their father. _

"_I'm sorry," he said calmly._

_Jonathan looked at the floor, "Yes sir."_

"_Good boy," he said with a smile. "Good boy."_

Tom awoke the next morning with the words echoing in his head _know your enemy or you will die_. Tom didn't know Quirrell enough and he lost, he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

Little did he know that his next learning opportunity would come soon. During the next History class the students started pestering Binns about the chamber of secrets.

"Alright," he caved after a little while. He proceeded to explain in too much detail the story of the four founders. Personally Tom found all of this quite dull since he had already heard the story from his father. It wasn't until the very end that he actually learned something.

"According to legend, before Slytherin left he built a hidden room somewhere in the castle, a room that held some kind of monster. Only one of his heirs could open it. His intent was that one day his heir would come back to Hogwarts and would release the monster from the chamber thus enacting his revenge on the rest of the founders for letting muggle borns into the school." Binns finished annoyed.

Tom felt the same energy flow through his tattoos as the night before at the mention of the legend.

"Now what do ya think?" Scott asked from the seat next to him.

Tom bit his lip, "Someone here is the heir," Tom said in a quiet voice," He's here and my guess is he won't be going away for some time"

Scott looked a little paler now. Tom looked at his feet solemnly. Something dangerous was stirring in the depths of Hogwarts, and Tom knew that no one could stop it.

* * *

><p>AN So I realize that what Binns says in this chapter wasn't an exact quote from the book. I don't own the second book so I couldn't use his exact words, if it bothers someone that much then you can PM me his exact quote and I'll fix it. Other than that I hoped you liked this chapter. I'm really enjoying writting all these flash backs, let me know if I'm over doing it.


	8. Chapter 8

Tom woke up that mourning in a particularly crabby mood. On the night stand next to him a muggle mechanism was beeping obnoxiously interrupting his deep sleep. Scott called the thing an alarm clock and had insisted Tom use it so that he would wake up in time for the quidditch game. Personally, Tom would've rather slept in than loose a few hours of sleep for the silly game; however, Scott could be unbearably annoying when he wanted to.

Tom stared at the small round machine trying to find a way to shut the thing up. There was a button on the top that clearly read off. The button seemed to be out of order at the moment though and the loud beeping sound was starting to drive him insane. Finally he decided the best way was to smash it against the wall.

Now that the clock was silent, the rest of the dorm was uncharacteristically quiet, as the rest of the boys had already headed out for breakfast. It was almost a crime that Tom had to leave the peace and calm, but he had to. He walked leisurely through the hallways dreading the impending noise of the stadium. For now at least the sound of a faint dripping sound was the only other source of movement.

Tom sighed as the sound of the quidditch pitch started to become louder. The entire student body was already there. The game would be starting momentarily. Tom hurried into the Gryffindor stands and slipped into his seat next to Scott.

"What took you so long," he scolded immediately.

"That stupid noise maker wouldn't shut up," Tom shot back. Scott mumbled something inaudibly in response. "What I miss?" he asked.

"Nothing yet. They are starting in a minute," Scott said. As if on cue, the players shot out onto the field making their way skillfully through the air into their positions. Soon the game was off.

Tom would have glazed over within a minute or two. He would have pretended to listen to Scott rant about Slytherin's new brooms. He would have made fun of his fellow Gryffindors for their overreaction to whatever outcome the game had. Unfortunately, Harry Potter had to have yet another piece of quidditch equipment malfunction. Last year it was his broom. This year it was a rogue bludger.

It took everyone a few moments to realize that something was wrong. At first it just looked like the bludger had just happened to start plummeting at Potter by chance. Everyone assumed that when the Weasley twins hit it away the hard rock of a ball would simply choose another target. It didn't though, instead it turned and continued to come after Potter. Thank the lord for beaters because if it wasn't for the two Weasley twins poor Harry would probably have been crippled after the first five minutes.

Tom instinctively moved his eyes to the teachers looking for a nervous man in a turban. He wasn't there of course, the bludger was being motivated by someone else or rather something else. If someone was actively cursing the bludger in the stands someone would have noticed. Thus it must have been cursed prior to the game, most likely by a Slytherin.

Tom gritted his teeth trying to think of something he could do. He couldn't use his wand to try and stop the bludger. It would look suspicious. Even though the ministry seemed to be backing down with the whole 'lets send Tom to Azkaban' thing, he didn't want to take any chances. That meant his only option was wandless magic. This was quite problematic being Tom wasn't skilled enough to stop it this way.

"Tom can you do anything?" Scott was asking.

Tom ran is fingers through his hair and shook his head silently. This game was going to be stressful. Harry continued to go untouched with the help of Fred and George. Without the two beaters though, the rest of the Gryffindor team was outnumbered. Soon Slytherin's score was climbing fast.

Tom stared at the bludger which was being hit away yet again. Perhaps if it stopped moving all together he would be able to try and stop it. It was a long shot, but it was his only shot. He grabbed his wand from his pocket and put it on the bench. He leaned onto his hand which was held over the wooden stick. No wizard would be able to cast a proper spell like this; however, the wand would give a certain amount of direction to the magic Tom was about to do. Finally Wood took a time out to speak with his team and the bludger was momentarily subdued. This was his chance.

He closed his eyes and cast his senses out looking for the bludger. It took a moment for him to find the thing but once he did there was no denying someone had tampered with it. The way to best describe the feeling it was emitting was to compare it to a spiders web. It had several veins of magic running through it creating a network of threads all of which converged in the middle. Usually these veins would stand taught and rigid, permanently giving the bludger its magical characteristics. The one that was chasing Harry wasn't quite like this. It had the normal rigid strands that it should but there was an additional strand running through it. This extra was fluid moving around inside of the bludger like a ping pong ball. In the very center of the bludger was a hard core which gave off a sort of essence that was undeniably tied to Harry.

Tom let his own magic infiltrate the bludger giving it a third bluish looking string. He moved it skillfully around in the ball trying to distrupt the spell that was making it rouge. Another second or two and he might of gotten rid of it. Just another second. It couldn't have just worked out though. A moment before he caught up with the curse he was ripped away from it.

He gasped and his eyes flew open. The bludger was moving again flying after Harry. This time Fred and George seemed to have abandoned him, as they helped the chasers score their first goal.

Tom cursed under his breath. He had been so close. Scott glanced over at his friend a little panicked.

"You ok?"

"I had it," Tom scowled back. He could feel his heart beating fast with exertion as his breath came out unevenly.

Harry was left out on the field doing acrobats trying to evade the small brown ball. Malfoy sat on his broom high in the sky laughing hysterically at his opponent. If only it were legal to hex obnoxious twelve year olds.

Just then Harry seemed to have seen something over by Malfoy. He sped towards the other seeker diving for something. Lee Jordan's voice rang through the stadium. Harry has spotted the snitch. After Malfoy recovered from his initial confusion, he turned and dove in pursuit of his adversary. The two turned and twisted around the columns that jutted out of the pitch, over a group of students and into the under part of the stadium's structure. All the while being chased by the rouge bludger. Soon everyone was on their feet watching the two. The excitement was practically palpable. One moment Harry was in the lead, the next Malfoy, and then they were tied. Finally Harry lunged for the snitch leaving his broom behind and grabbing it with his hand. His body fell onto the ground, rolling slightly before ceasing to move. The entire stadium watched silently. Harry opened his hand and a small golden object fluttered out.

"Harry Potter has caught the Snitch 150 points to Gryffindor!"

Everyone started to cheer giving him a standing ovation. It should have ended there, except the bludger hadn't been tamed. It came crashing towards Harry attacking him repeatedly. Harry managed to dodge it twice before it finally crushed into his arm emitting a loud cracking sound. At that moment someone cast a spell and the bludger exploded, leaving Harry on the ground in pain.

"What's wrong with him," Scott mumbled. It was actually quite clear what the matter was. His arm was bent at an odd angle, it must have been broken. A couple teachers rushed out onto the field to attend to Harry, the first to make it there being Lockhart. The sorry excuse for a professor pulled out his wand and poited it at a point in the middle of Harry's forearm. Lockhart's lips moved as he spoke some spell outloud. Whatever it was, it malfunctioned as Harry's arm dropped forward like jello. The entire student body let out a large groan in disgust.

"Come on," Tom said pulling his friend towards the exit, "The game looks like its over, they'll get Madame Pomefrey to take care of him."

* * *

><p>The rest of the day passed slowly as they filled the time with homework. Not that they got much done, for in the end Gryffindor did win. Thus the common room was loud with the celebratory noise of content Gryffindor students. Tom was happy to just sit and watch as his peers made fools of themselves playing games and showing off their magical skills with some questionably acquired food and soda. It wasn't until nine that the party seemed to be slowing down.<p>

The second year boys all walked up to their dorm to get ready for bed. Dean was currently doing an imitation of Malfoy's face when he realized that the Slytherin's had lost.

"I reckon he looked much more git-like," Seamus said. The other boys nodded in agreement.

"Harry was bloody brilliant," Ron cried out from next to Seamus. Tom tuned out their banter as they climbed the steps. He didn't understand how one could complement their best friend once every ten minutes and still be deemed normal.

As the boys pulled on their pajamas Tom reached into his trunk to look for some more bandage rap. He always wore his arms covered to hide the Dark Mark that ran across both forearms, but currently he seemed to be out. He briefly considered not wearing it at all, before deciding against it. Although the mark hadn't been active in some time and had faded to a pinkish scar, it was still noticeable.

"Forgot something downstairs," Tom said quickly, "Be right back."

He slipped on some shoes and headed down through the common room and into the castle. He doubted he would get in trouble if he got caught. He would simply explain why he was out and Dumbledore would let him off. On top of that Filch was one cat down, so he probably wouldn't run into him anyway.

The dripping noise echoed through the dark castle cutting through the empty silence. Tom shivered; they really needed to get the pipes fixed. That was when he heard it again. It was the same voice that had spoken when he was practicing Occlemency, and again when the cat had been found.

_I came to you. I froze you solid. Next time I will kill_. It was saying this time. Tom felt goose bumps form on his skin. He chased after the voice, ignoring that he was traveling in the opposite direction of the hospital wing. It moved quickly though and within minutes he had lost track of it. He gave put an exasperated huff and turned to look at his surroundings.

He was in a corridor he recognized that led from the tower to the owl tower. Tom turned and started to head back towards the Hospital wing. The voice had led him quite off track and he chose to take a different route to get there quicker. Half way there he saw a figure ahead of him standing in the center of the hall.

"Hello," Tom asked nervously. He had left his wand on his night stand, and he was starting to regret it. The figure didn't reply.

"Hello?" Tom called again. When he didn't get an answer for the second time he slowly approached the figure. It didn't move as he inched closer.

Then it became perfectly clear. Standing frozen in the center of the hall way was none other than Colin Creevy. Tom felt his stomach drop, Colin wasn't frozen he was petrified.

A light cut through the darkness of the night. Tom turned shielding his eyes from the brightness. Filch stood at the opening of the hallway.

"Found at the scene of the crime," he spat out between dry lips. Tom's eyes moved between the frozen Collin and Filch.

Crap.


	9. Chapter 9

It is extremely difficult to explain the emotions that pass through one's conscience when they sit in front of the entire ministry for a second time, being tried for a crime one didn't commit. Perhaps he deserved such a thing, but it was his own personal preference that if he be sent to Azkaban it before something he did. Perhaps the use of the three unforgivable curses, associating oneself with the Dark Lord, or murder would be the cause. Any of these would be perfectly legitimate. The notions that he be sentenced for attacking poor Colin Creevy made his blood boil. If he got convicted everyone he knew would hate him and his life would be beyond repair. Thus it would be fair to say Tom didn't know the meaning of hate before he met Bartholomew Crouch.

The man sat in the judges chair, his hair greased back neatly staring down at Tom icily. It gave him no trouble to return the loathing glare. A year ago he would have averted his gaze in shame, he had nothing to be sorry for this time around.

"Tom Marvelo Riddle the third," Crouch bellowed," You have been summoned here today on account of the disturbances that have been occurring at Hogwarts. What do you plead?"  
>The man was blunt, Tom would give him that much, "Not guilty," he said confidently back to the court room. Tom watched as Crouch's lip curled slightly.<p>

"This is your fourth trial, Mr. Riddle," Crouch began.

"To the contrary, this is my second. I believe you termed our other two visits checkups, of purely a precautionary manner," Tom interrupted. He glanced over his shoulder at Dumbledore who stood behind his metal chair with a stoic expression plastered across his face. For a brief moment their eyes met and the man gave him a subtle nod.

"Very well this is your second trial then," Crouch replied unhappily, "My point here is that you are obviously a troubled child." Tom opened his mouth to interrupt again but Crouch raised his voice dramatically first, "Ladies and gentleman of the ministry a little over a year ago this young man was found in the custody of Augustine York. This convicted death eater has committed more crimes than any other man to have ever graced Azkaban. I warned everyone then. I told everyone that the boy was destined to follow in his father's footsteps. What's more is that York isn't even his true father. This boy is the son of he-who-must-not-be-named. The chamber of secrets has been opened. Is it so hard to believe that this child may have been the descendent of Salazar Slytherin with such parentage?"

Crouch exchanged a subtle gloating look with Dumbledore, challenging him to top such an argument.

Dumbledore's mouth turned into a slight smile, "Well I agree it is undeniable that Mr. Riddle hasn't come from a difficult bloodline. I don't see how this is relevant though."

Crouch stared at him, dumfounded, "How couldn't they be relavant?" he demanded," Whoever opened the chamber was the heir of Slytherin. Both York and You-know-who came from some kind of pure blood line. Both of their families have been in Slytherin since the school started. It is extreamly possible that he could be the descendant of Salazar Slytherin."

"I would like to call Severus Snape to the witness stand," Dumbledore said in response.

Crouch narrowed his eyes at Dumbledore suspiciously as Snape strolled into the room, standing at the other side of Tom. Tom hadn't expected to see Snape here and he studied the man's face carefully. He seemed to be avoiding eye contact with Tom as his cold gaze studied the jury distastefully. Tom cringed inwardly, Snape knew him better than any other living person on earth. The man had looked into his past and seen the memories that plagued him. Knowledge like that was powerful. Perhaps powerful enough to keep Tom out of Azkaban; however, it wasn't the type of knowledge that Tom wanted the ministry to see. He had retained his own secrets up until this point in time. They wouldn't be secrets much longer.

Crouch's mouth twitched," Professor Snape," he greeted in a less then welcoming tone. With that the questioning began.

"Why don't you explain the encounter that you had with Tom in the beginning of the school year Severus," Dumbledore urged.

"Just before the start of the school year Tom came to me asking for me to tutor him," Snape said

"What did you say," Dumbledore asked.

"I said no," Snape responded, "I had no desire to spend any more time educating ungrateful young wizards who cannot seem to grasp the concept of listening."

"Mr. Riddle insisted though," Dumbledore supplied.

"He wished to know the art of Occlemency," Snape said, "The boy wouldn't leave until I had agreed. As expected Mr. Riddle was incompetent, unable to find any success. We have been meeting every week since school began. The boy hasn't managed to prevent me from entering his mind in any form. His inability is derived from his lack of control over his ever so delicate emotions. These meetings are quite pointless as he has made no progress; however, I have continued to indulge him." Tom frowned slightly. Snape was lying, he had made progress. In their last meeting he had pushed him out for an entire five seconds. Tom followed the man's cold gaze to Crouch and he understood. It was of utmost importance that the jury believes that Snape had seen into Tom's mind.

"Why is this important to Mr. Riddle's case," Dumbledore asked politely.

"The day that the first message was written on the wall, and Mr. Filch's cat was petrified the boy was with me. He had been giving another pathetic attempt at the art. After he failed miserably for what must have been the twentieth time I dismissed him. He then walked directly to the Great Hall and had dinner. The cat was discovered when the students were dismissed. It is impossible that he could've petrified the thing. On top of this I have seen the boy's deepest and most pitiful thoughts. If he had so much as known that he was the heir of Slytherin I can assure you I would know," Snape explained.

When he finished a murmur passed through the crowd as they took in Snape's words. Crouch was now the one fighting an uphill battle.

Dumbledore's eyes scanned the jury examining their faces carefully before speaking, "Now Barty as you can see it is impossible our young Tom could've done anything to harm poor ."

Crouch's cheeks were turning red now; he managed to keep calm though. "May I ask why Mr. Riddle was out of bed at such a late hour?" he asked in a somewhat hostile tone.

"I had run out of the bandages I use to cover my dark mark," Tom explained," It was dark though and I made a wrong turn. Next thing I knew I saw someone frozen in the hallway. I went to go see who it was when Filch showed up and started accusing me of all these things I didn't do." He conveniently left out the part where he heard some kind of strange voice.

"If you wish to hear more Barty," Dumbledore started," I can assure you Mr. Riddle is quite admirable. He gets Outstandings in all of his classes, follows all of the rules. I don't think you could've asked for more from him. Shall we vote then?"

Crouch glared hatefully at Dumbledore, "All in favor of guilty," he called. Of the many people that sat in the jury only seven of them raised their hand, "All in favor of innocent." It seemed Tom would be let off the hook this time.

"Then I think we are done here," Dumbledore said amiably.

Crouch stood speechless with unhappiness," I have one last proposal," he announced. "Although you have managed to delude most of my colleagues into thinking that the boy is beyond fault, I assure you I haven't been fooled. The boy's a risk. It is undeniable. If he is found again in an undesirable position I would like him in Azkaban immediately. If then your problems persist afterwards he will be released. What do you say minister?"

Dumbledore's expression immediately hardened. The minister had simply been watching prior to this point. The man sat next to Crouch with an unreadable mask of indifference lying across his face. By asking the minister his opinion on this proposal, Crouch had managed to dance around the jury issue. The minister's word was law; if he agreed then Crouch's proposal would become law that second.

"Yes I believe that is fair," he said strongly.

Tom frowned. It seemed he would have to be slightly more cautious for the rest of the year.


	10. Chapter 10

Tom's eyelids felt heavy as he reentered the Hogwarts campus. His feet dragged as he tried to move them. He had had been gone for a total of three days now. Scott was probably worried sick and no doubt there was all sorts of rumors running around about his strange disappearance. He let out a large yawn as he started the hike up to the castle. Dumbledore had apparated to the castle from the ministry because of something urgent. Tom was left with a bus ride, a train ride, and a sizable walk under auror supervision to get back to the castle. It didn't help that he was ready to pass out. Over the past three days he had only gotten maybe twelve hours of sleep on and off as nightmares of his past plagued him.

Fortunately, it was behind him now. The looming fear of Azkaban had evaporated into thin air, leaving his chest feeling significantly lighter than it had. Now he was going to go directly up to the Gryffindor tower and sink into his bed. Perhaps he might even sleep in and miss potions class in the morning. He was quite sure Snape would understand.

Just the thought of sleep seemed to be making his head droop. He would be just too luck to be able to go to sleep immediately. When he walked into the common room he found Scott sitting alone on the couch. Upon sight the boy hopped up and urgently half ran over to his best friend

"Tom you're back!" Scott cried relief pouring out of him, "You said you were going to the nurse and you never came back. Then Collin… And everyone was saying… I told them… Where were you?"

Tom let out a long sigh, "I found Colin," he mumbled tiredly, "Rather I was caught finding Colin. What do you think Filch though?"

"But you didn't…" Scott squeaked.

"I know I didn't. That's not what they thought though. I was at the ministry on trial. Dumbledore got me acquitted. I won't get let off again, "Tom said bluntly. He wasn't in the mood for this right now.

Scott opened his mouth to say something, but, for what might have been the first time, he actually paused in his babbling. His friend's blue eyes carefully examined Tom's condition taking in the bags that were forming under his eyes and the particularly agitated mood he was in. The he simply nodded, "We'll talk about it tomorrow," Scott mumbled. He was visibly disappointed that he couldn't get out all of the explaining now; however, he did stop talking. It was quite miraculous actually, for Scott never stopped talking.

Tom nodded and without another word he trudged up the stairs and slipped into his bed. Sleep overtook him immediately.

Tom awoke the next day feeling even worse than he had when he had fallen asleep. When he rolled over and realized it was because it was still only seven he let out a loud groan. Scott had just thrown a pillow at him to wake him up. Twelve hours of sleep obviously isn't enough to make up for three days of being more or less constantly awake.

"Come on," Scott said impatiently as he waited for Tom to get up. On a normal day Tom might have gotten up brushed his teeth, ran a comb quickly through his hair, slip his robes on, and neatly tie his tie around his neck. Today he settled for just brushing his teeth and putting his robes on quickly. He didn't have the patience to bother with a tie or smooth out his unruly bed head hair. He had every expectation that he probably looked like crap. He simply didn't have the patience to care today.

Scott gave him an odd look as Tom started to walk out the door before he fell into step with him. "Um so um everyone knows about Colin now. Harry put a bomb in a cauldron and Snape threatened to expel him. Um you missed a quiz in transfigurations…" Scott rambled as the two walked to breakfast. Tom listened semi-interested. The part that was the most peculiar was the tidbit about Harry. Potter was definitely had a habit of getting into trouble; however, usually it was accidental. Bombing a cauldron seemed more like something one of the Weasley twins would do not something Potter, Granger, and the younger Weasley would. He wondered what there motive was.

This was of course immediately expelled from his mind once he entered the Great Hall. He felt eyes following on his back following him as he sunk into his seat next to Scott. He had spent past year and a half trying to go unnoticed. Now he seemed to be the center of attention and he most certainly wasn't okay with it.

"Everyone is staring," Scott muttered uncomfortably.

"Yup," Tom mumbled back coldly. Scott ignored Tom's moodiness and went back to his rambling as the two started to eat their breakfast. The other day pancakes and waffles didn't seem all that special. Now that he had come so close to the prison food of Azkaban the taste of maple syrup almost sang to him. It almost was enough to pull him out of his sour mood.

"Hey Tom your back," a voice said casually. Tom glanced up to see Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan slipping into the two empty seats in front of him and Scott.

"Yup," Tom replied simply. His mind scrolled through all of the possible excuses he could use for his unexpected absence.

"So um where you been mate?" Dean asked trying not to sound awkward.

Tom shrugged, "Family troubles. My dad wanted me to come home, with all the stuff going on with the Chamber of Secrets and all. We got into a fight. It sucked but I'm back," Tom lied smoothly. It was semi-truthful. His father was in Azkaban at the moment, so by saying his father wanted him home he really meant Crouch wanted him home. By home he meant Azkaban. The cause was because of the Chamber of Secrets and he sort of fought with Crouch. Finally, it most certainly sucked.

Immediately after he finished talking Seamus seemed to warm up to him. Beforehand he had been gazing formally across the table, not saying anything. "That bad huh? I mean no offense, but you look like crap today," he said in a friendly manner.

Tom shrugged, "Its over now," he said successfully cutting of the conversation.

Scott sensed the opening and piped in, "Who do you think it is?" he asked. Tom fought the urge to snort out a laugh. Scott was getting out his monthly gossip. Apparently Tom wasn't much of a talker and was extremely obscure when it came to opinions, thus whenever Scott wanted to know what was going on around the school with the others he had to find some way to get into a conversation with one of his classmates.

"Definitely Malfoy," Seamus whispered immediately.

Dean glanced over his shoulder at the pompous Slytherin, "I don't know. I feel like the whole school would know it by now if it were him," he muttered back.

"It's not Malfoy," Tom cut in with certainty. Malfoy was a fairly easy person to read, and although he has seemed to have adapted the racist views of his father, the arrogant knowing smile was absent from his face. If it were Malfoy the boy wouldn't be able to keep it in so smoothly.

"Yeah who do you think it is then?" Seamus asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Tom's eyes scanned the Slytherin table carefully, "Not Malfoy," he responded after a moment.

"Well its got to be one of them," Scott said thoughtfully.

The conversation flowed like this for the rest of breakfast and it didn't seem to stop after that. Everywhere the two turned for the rest of the week someone was talking about the Heir of Slytherin. Who was he? Where was he? Who was he going to get next? There wasn't a sentence that went by without someone mentioning the Heir. Perhaps the only thing that was talked about besides that was the upcoming dueling club meeting.

"I want to go," Scott had said immediately when he heard.

Tom groaned, "Yes because that's just how I want to spend an hour of my life. 'Learning' how to fight from the magnificently wonderful Gilderoy Lockhart. You know I bet you I will leave that session enlightened cause obviously I haven't got a clue how to conduct a wizard duel," Tom said sarcastically.

"You might not want to go, but I don't know how to duel. I might need to know with all the stuff going around," Scott said defiantly.

"You want me to teach you? It will save us both some time," Tom offered hopefully.

"I'm going," Scott said ignoring him," If you want to come that'd be great. You know Snape is going to be helping so maybe you will learn something."

Tom ended up trailing along in the end, though he was none too happy about it. When the two boys got there the room was filled. Half the school had decided to show up as learning fighting skills seemed to be becoming more important by the minute.

Lockhart stood in the center of the room looking excitedly around at all of his prospective propaganda victims. His robes were as usual, overly peppy, and just the sight of the man was getting on Tom's nerves.

"Alright," Lockhart called grabbing his audience's attention. He proceeded to say a bunch of words which Tom didn't care to listen to. He felt his eyes glaze over as the man started to review knowledge that Tom had known since he was three.

He sighed, "Why am I here again?" he mumbled to himself. Tom could've zoned out for the entire time, except he didn't want to miss the fight. Lockhart seemed to have decided that he wanted to demonstrate how to duel with Snape. Finally there would be some quality entertainment.

The two stood in the center of the room and started going through the motions of proper duel etiquette. Lockhart got into a ready position and counted, "1…2…3."

At the exact moment the number three left his lips a spell left Snape's, "Expeliarmus!"

Snape's spell was so powerful that Lockhart was sent flying backwards landing painfully on the ground. Tom let out a loud snort, Lockhart was even less capable then he had thought. Snape simply stood up straight and displayed a small gloating smile on his face as his black eyes watched as Lockhart stammered to his feet.

"I was going easy for the demonstration," Lockhart declared immediately once he had regained his balance.

Tom rolled his eyes and tuned them out again. After another moment he realized that Snape seemed to be putting them into groups of two. He seemed to be enjoying himself slightly too much as he paired Slytherins with Gryffindors, in a way that no one was happy with their partner. For example Harry was unfortunate enough to get paired with Malfoy.

When Snape reached Tom his slight smirk slipped away and a very formal expression came over him. "You and McNight," he said curtly. Tom nodded indifferently, as Scott let out a loud breath of relief.

"Alright so first we bow right?" Scott asked unsure.

Tom nodded and demonstrated. He bowed low exaggerating the movement and waiting there for Scott to catch up. "Alright now we start fighting," Tom instructed. Scott nodded and started sending some basic hexes towards Tom. He decided blocking them would be enough for now. Thus he didn't caste one offensive spell for the entire time.

"Alright why don't we have an example duel," Lockhart announced after a moment, "Harry, how would you like to demonstrate?"

Harry didn't look very happy as he nodded grudgingly. Snape was the one too speak up now, "May I recommend Draco Malfoy from my house as his opponent?" Snape said.

"Of course," Lockhart agreed, "Now boys I want you two to try and disarm each other."

Both of them nodded, although it was quite clear neither had absorbed what he had said. They were too busy glaring at each other. Tom watched intently as the two climbed up onto the raised dueling strip in the center of the room. Snape was by Malfoy's side and he whispered something into Malfoy's ear before leaving. If Tom had to guess he would say it was probably something about sticking to the disarming rule, although it probably looked kind of suspicious to the other kids.

Both boys stood at the ready as they waited for Snape to clear the strip. Then it started, Malfoy was the first to cast a spell as he was the one to ignore the bowing part. "Everte Statum," he cried.

Harry side stepped the spell and flew a counter curse at Malfoy, "Rectumsempra," he responded.

The curse missed by perhaps a centimeter. Malfoy's face turned into a cocky grin at that moment, "Serpensortia," he said with a sneer. A snake flew from Malfoy's wand landing in between the two. Tom reached for his wand preparing to do something about it; unfortunately, Lockhart beat him to it.

"Have no fear. I can get rid of it. Alarte Ascendere," he called. Tom winced internally. That spell was generally used to blow back an enemy or knock someone off balance. In other words it wasn't going to get rid of the snake.

It fulfilled its designed purpose of course and the snake was sent flying landing back on the ground a few feet closer to Harry. It seemed maddened by its sudden airborne abilities as it turned to the nearest victim, a young Hufflepuff boy. It hissed loudly as the poor kid's eyes widened scared. Tom gritted his teeth; he didn't have a good angle on the snake to do anything. He was stuck watching.

The snake was starting to inch closer to the boy. To Tom's surprise it wasn't Harry was the one who stepped up, "Don't hurt him," Potter demanded loudly. At first Tom thought Harry had gone mad. It was a snake after all they didn't exactly speak English. It seemed to be able to understand though as it glanced at Harry for a moment and glanced back at the Hufflepuff. The room had fallen silent now as people stared at Potter.

Snape was the only one who had it in himself to take action. He moved his arm out in a single fluid movement sending a flash towards the animal. The snake seemed to go up in flames momentarily before it vanished completely.

It doesn't take a skilled wizard to be able to read the feelings in a room. Anyone could do it, even a muggle. It just takes a little bit of observation. At the moment, several feelings were flying around. Perhaps the most prominent was shock. At what Tom wasn't sure, all Potter had done was tell the snake to stop maybe they were surprised it had responded to his English. The second emotion that hung in the air was confusion. Most of it came from Potter as he also didn't seem to understand the importance of what he just did. There was a third emotion there too and this one was arguably the most significant. Under everything was an indescribable terror that was building in the deepest of places. Something about this incident seemed to unleash it.

Tom glanced over at Scott. The boy's blue eyes were clouded in deep thought. They needed to talk now. Tom grabbed his friend by the arm and dragged him out of the room.

"Did- did you hear that," Scott stuttered out his eyes wide.

"Hear what?" Tom asked seriously.

"Harry-he talked to the snake," Scott exclaimed.

Tom brought his eyebrows together, "Yeah he yelled at it to stop," he said choosing his words carefully.

"You understood him?" Scott asked surprised.

Tom nodded, "He was speaking in plain English wasn't he?"

Scott shook his head worriedly," It sounded like he hissed," Scott mumbled.

Tom frowned thoughtfully. He needed to talk to someone about this, someone who had answers.

"I need to go," he said abruptly. Tom jogged away from Scott and headed around to the back of the Great Hall. Lockhart and Snape were walking out the door of the room.

"I would have gotten rid of it myself," Lockhart was saying when Tom interrupted him

"Professor Snape may I have a word," he asked.

Snape's black eye's scanned Tom distastefully then flicked to Lockhart. "Of course," he said between pursed lips. If Tom had to guess, he would say the only reason that Snape was indulging him was because he was probably ready to kill Lockhart.

The Defense teacher glanced arrogantly down at Tom, "I'm sure that I could answer any questions you have Tom," he said. What he didn't say was that he could answer them better than Snape. It was certainly implied though.

Tom glanced irritably at Lockhart, " It is a personal question sir. About something that hasn't anything to do with your field of expertise," Tom lied.

Lockhart looked like he might have insisted more, but thankfully he backed off, "Right wel I have some fan mail that won't sign itself. Have a good day Tom, Severus." With that he walked off briskly towards his office, leaving Tom alone with the potions master.

Snape was looking expectantly at Tom waiting for him to speak, "Well?" he prompted.

"Harry he… Everyone said he spoke to the snake," Tom said.

Snape stared at him for a moment, "How very observant of you," he sneered sarcastically.

Tom shifted uncomfortably," I understood what he was saying. In fact I thought he was speaking English until my friend told me otherwise."

"Did you expect otherwise," Snape asked coldly, "The Dark Lord was known to be a parselmouth, Mr. Riddle. It would be utterly senseless to consider the notion that you might be one too," he finished sarcastically.

"A parselmouth," Tom muttered to himself. He was very aware of what they were and how rare the ability was. He read in a book the previous year that all some people say all parselmouths were somehow related to Salazar Slytherin himself.

"Now if you are finished I have matters to attend to," Snape said. His black cape wisped behind him as he passed.

"Professor you know that Harry was just telling the snake to leave that kid alone right?" Tom called out.

Snape paused for a moment, "No, I thought that he actually was telling it to kill Mr. Finch-Fletchey in front of the entire student body. After all Potter is known for his lack of intelligence."

Tom let out a sigh and walked in the opposite direction to look for Scott. It had been a long day, and he probably had some explaining to do.

* * *

><p>AN Hey everyone wo I'm really sorry about the late update. School dropped a work bomb on me and I haven't had enough time to sleep let alone get to writting. On top of that this chapter is pretty long, so it's a little late. Hope you like it though.


	11. Chapter 11

Air, he needed more of it. He felt the gas flowing into his lungs, but it never seemed to be enough. His fatigue was only growing. His robes were clinging tightly to his skin. If a muggle saw him they might think that he had just gone swimming. His pale hands felt unnaturally cold in the dank dungeon. He might have though a window was propped open, letting the freezing air flow into the room but he knew better.

"I can tell you are hiding things,"Snape hissed at him.

"Sorry," Tom wheezed back," If I ease up at all I'm going to lose it."Snape flicked his wand again casting the spell. Tom gritted his teeth as he felt it hit him. His magical shield protected his mind from penetration; however, keeping it up was extraordinarily difficult. He felt like a stampede was hitting him in the chest with its full force, but unlike a normal stampede he couldn't horde it off with his hands, everything had to be done purely with his mind. It was exhausting.

"It's a shame. I was beginning to think you had a miniscule amount of talent," Snape sneered unhappily. Tom didn't respond he simply continued to gasp for air. A moment later he felt the stampede again. His muscles screamed in resistance as he called on all the strength he could to try and move the shield back slightly. At first it seemed to move willingly, then just like that it was gone and Tom was looking up at the Hogwarts castle. He was walking through the front gate with Dumbledore. The sun was shining high in the sky casting illuminating the hulking building. This memory at least, was relatively happy, it was the first time he had come to Hogwarts. The last time he slipped up on the shield he was sucked into a memory where the only thing he could hear was his own screams.

"Weak," Snape spat as the world reappeared around him.

Tom frowned," This isn't working," He protested exasperatedly," Even if I did manage to get it perfect its too exhausting. I'll give it away on my face."

Snape's icy glare fell over him, "Then you will have to get better," Snape sneered simply.

Tom ran his hand through his hair and nodded to Snape signifying that he was ready for the next wave. Again came the pressure and again he attempted to resist. This time he chose complete exclusion rather than attempting to let him and risk exposing everything.

"Occlemency isn't a silly spell that can be used at will. It is only brought about after you have successfully won a complicated game of self-control. If you wish to master the skill then you must master yourself. Clearly you have some work to be done," Snape said. He took his wand and tucked it into his pocked frowning once more at Tom before stalking behind his desk.

"You are to keep your brick wall around your mind at all times this week. There should never be a moment when your thoughts are vulnerable. Perhaps you should also indulge yourself with the knowledge of what areas of the brain hold what thoughts," Snape instructed formally. "Do not disappoint me."

Tom nodded silently as the threat hung in the air. "Thank you for your time Professor," he said quietly before turning around to head out the door. Just as his hand clamped around the door knob he felt the pressure of legilemency press on his mind again and for a moment he caught a glimps of his childhood bedroom. He quickly reset his barrier pushing Snape out of his mind.

"I fail to see the difficulty that student find in simple instruction," Snape sneered out aggravated.

"Sorry sir," Tom murmured. With that he slipped out the room. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky. Judging from its positioning it was pressing seven now. Tom had missed dinner. He glanced one last time at the sky. If he hurried he might be able to swing by the kitchen on the way to the dormitories. All of a sudden his pace seemed to pick up significantly. When he rounded the Great Hall he could smell a pleasant scent that resembled some kind of baked sugary dessert. He could feel his stomach growling as he approached the door. He reached out and twisted the door knob entering the kitchen.

He thought it was peculiar that the light was on in the kitchen so late, but he figured it must ust be the house elves cleaning up. The kitchen was a relatively large room with many shelves and cabnets for all sorts of tools and foods. It may have taken forever to find an acceptable meal Tom concluded that he had to do the only reasonable thing- follow his nose. The scent of the sweet was strong now and he closed his eyes and followed it. If he had to guess what it was at that moment he would have said it was some kind of sticky bun. A sticky bun most certainly would be good right now. Unfortunately he didn't find a sticky bun. Well he did, but he didn't thing he would be able to eat it. In the middle of the room was a small scrawny creature wearing a dirty pillow case. In one of his bony fingers he held a glass vial. He was pouring its clear contents over the sticky bun that he held in his other hand.

"What are you doing?" Tom asked disappointed.

The creature jumped at the sound of his voice. Its large green eyes looked up at him fearfully. Tom sniffed the air again, behind the potent smell of sugar that hung in the air there was a twinge of something else, something a bit bitter. He knew that smell…

Tom lunged at the elf catching it off guard, just prior to its attempt to apparate away.

"I didn't mean it. Dobby is a bad house elf terrible house elf," it squealed as it struggled to reach for something on the nearby kitchen counter. Tom yanked it into the air bringing it to eye level with him. He reached around it and took the sweet from the elf.

"Whats this?" he asked although he expected no answer, "I think I'm going to find out." He took the thing and brought it to his mouth opening up as if to take a bite.

"No," the creature yelled, "Dobby has been bad. Very very bad. Don't eat it."

"Why not?" Tom demanded

"Dobby poisoned it," it squealed, "Bad Dobby, bad bad Dobby."

"Who did you want to kill," Tom asked.

"Dobby did not mean to kill anyone. It is dangerous at Hogwarts, very dangerous. Dobby needs to help Dobby's… friend. Dobby's friend isn't safe at Hogwarts," the creature said.

"Who are you trying to protect?" Tom inquired curiously.

"Dobby cannot say. Dobby isn't supposed to help," the creature said. Tom lowered it down putting it onto its feet. He made sure to stay in contact with it though just in case it tried to apparate again.

"It must be a pretty good friend for a house elf to disobey his master for," Tom prompted.

The creature's eyes looked suddenly sorrowful and started it started wailing, "Dobby is a bad house elf," it cried. It reached for something on counter again, this time it found a wooden spoon. "Dobby is a bad house elf," it wailed again as it began to beat itself with a spoon.

"Stop it," Tom demanded calmly yanking it out of his hand. He examined the elf again unsure of how to proceed at this time period. "You know I know a lot about house elves. I learned about them when I was a kid. You know what I learned? House elves, they don't disobey their masters. Ever. Whoever you're trying to protect must be pretty important huh. Who is it? Dumbledore?" the elf's eyes traveled to the floor, avoiding Tom's, "One of the teachers?" The elf's eyes continued to stare, "Lockhart maybe?" The elf's eyes continued to stare, "One of the students then?" This time they flicked momentarily up at Tom's face, "A Slytherin?" The elf's eyes stayed at the floor, "A Gryffindor?" They flicked up at his face yet again. Tom racked his brain for a prominent Gryffindor, anyone in the house. There was only one person he could think of, "Harry Potter."

The elf lunged for the spoon again. When finding it out of reach it settled for throwing itself at the counter in a painful manner. "Bad Dobby," it cried over and over again.

"Stop it," Tom demanded unhappily as it twisted from his grasp. Then, just as his skin lost contact, the elf disappeared, leaving Tom alone in the kitchen.


	12. Chapter 12

Sorry for the small wait, school hasn't slowed down yet. I'll try to update about once a week, if I get lucky it will be less but it could be more. Sorry.

* * *

><p>Tom let out a loud yawn as he waited in the headmaster's office. Dumbledore was of course missing at the moment as Tom made himself comfortable in the armchair. A large phoenix was sitting on a bar behind Dumbledore's desk. Its curious black eyes were studying Tom with mild interest as he returned its gaze. He had never seen a phoenix before. His father had told him a long time ago that they were relatively rare. To find one, a wizard would have to go on an exceedingly long search. Some men apparently spent their lives traveling the world while looking for the bird only to find no success. If you did find one however, it would be forever loyal to you throughout its life.<p>

"Gorgeous bird isn't he?" a voice said from behind him.

Tom didn't need to turn to know who it was, instead he continued to study the phoenix's red and gold feathers that decorated its body, "Yeah," Tom agreed, "Where did you find one?"

Dumbledore walked up over to his desk and took a seat, "I was fortunate enough to come across it in my youth," Dumbledore explained vaguely.

Tom nodded. He was holding a string in his hand. He wasn't quite sure where it had come from, but he had found it a few moments ago as he waited for Dumbledore. Now he couldn't be happier that he had it as he twirled it around in his fingers nervously. It was the second year that Tom had requested a trip to the McNight's house over break. Theoretically he should be relatively secure about the answer. In light of recent events though, he was dreading the words that were about to come out of Dumbledore's mouth.

"I'm afraid to say Tom, that I don't think it would be wise to visit your friend's house this year," Dumbledore said gravely. Tom felt his heart drop a little as Dumbledore gave voice to the words Tom knew were coming.

Tom nodded," We couldn't try asking him?" Tom asked with false hope.

Dumbledore shook his head, "I'm sure you understand completely the difficult times that Hogwarts is facing," Dumbledore said gravely, "You have been put in a difficult position with Mr. Crouch. Now is not the time to try and ask for favors from him."

Tom let out a sigh. It wasn't like he hadn't seen this coming after all. "Professor?" Tom asked cautiously," Something has been bothering me. Everyone, the professors, the students, they all seem… on edge about the Chamber being open. Why? I mean, I understand that the stunning thing is scaring everyone, it just seems like it's more than that."

A faint shadow of a sad smile showed on Dumbledore's lips, "Yes, you're quite observant. You see the chamber has been opened, once before. A young girl died last time."

Tom stared at his hands thoughtfully, "That means there was an heir here back then," Tom said.

Again Dumbledore nodded, "That is precisely why Mr. Crouch is reasonable to suspect you."

"My father went here when it was opened?" Tom inquired.

"Voldemort did," Dumbledore answered. "I can assure you I am quite confident in your innocence."

Tom studied Dumbledore's face carefully," Positive huh," he replied sarcastically. He hadn't meant to come off as bitter as he had. Crouch's accusations must have bothered him more than he thought.

Dumbledore smiled warmly, "You know I find birds fascinating creatures," Dumbledore said off topic, "Among my favorites is the Roc."

"The what sir?" Tom asked confused.

"The Roc," Dumbledore repeated, "It's a large bird, very rare. There are about ten left. According to rumors they can pick up elephants and carry them away to eat them. Any bird who could do such a thing is something to be feared don't you agree."

"Um yeah," Tom said.

"I met one once," Dumbledore told him. Tom stared at the man blankly, "It's name was Magan."

"How do you know its name?" Tom asked.

"Well it told me of course," Dumbledore said.

" Of course," Tom said sarcastically.

"Yes well I have to say the average man would be very scared of Magan," Dumbledore continued," He was a Roc after all, a creature that is known for eating elephants, my goodness who wouldn't be scared. There was something about his eyes though. I truly didn't believe that it was going to eat me. Anyway Magan asked me what I was doing in Persia and we got into a conversation about these wonderful muggle treats, fig newtons. Well it was all downhill from there."

Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled nostalgically as he reminisced in the past, "I trusted Magan because his eyes told me he wasn't a threat. Even the greatest of Occlemens have trouble hiding the emotion in their eyes. A curious bird will have curious eyes. A murderous heir will have murderous eyes. A confused boy will have confused eyes. It is quite simple really."

Tom looked at the floor. His father always used to tell him and Jonathan apart by the look in their eyes. He had always described Jonathan's as determined…

"I should go," Tom said standing up.

Dumbledore waved a hand up at him, "Have a good brake Tom," the headmaster said as Tom turned towards the door.

Tom stood at Hogwarts' gate as he wished his friend a last good bye before Christmas. "Tell your parents I said hi," he said.

"Sure," Scott said. He still sounded disappointed that Tom wasn't coming,"I don't understand why you couldn't just come. It's not that big a deal."

Tom shrugged, "Yeah well you know, Crouch."

"Yeah I guess," Scott said with a sigh, "I'll see you when break ends."

"See you," Tom said. With that Scott walked out the gate and headed towards the train platform. Tom sighed and turned to head to the Great Hall for dinner.

It was more populated than he had expected it to be. Given that he had expected to be completely alone in the castle and now he found he was one of fifteen. He examined the Griffindor table carefully looking for a good place to sit down. He could sit with Harry Weasley and Granger, but it would probably be awkward sitting with them as he wasn't exactly buddy-buddy with any one of them. His eyes moved on scanning for a different seat. His eyes fell on a familiar girl. He walked casually over to her and sat across.

"Hey," he said as she eyed him. Luckily she did seem to recognize him.

"You're the kid who scared Malfoy," she replied.

"Yeah," Tom replied simply.

"There a reason why you're here?" she asked seriously," Cause I thought I told you we could speak again when you reacquainted yourself with the knowledge of how to speak."

Tom gave frowned at her. It seemed the girl had been serious when she had spoken to him months earlier. His mind looked for something to say to that. After a moment he figured something out," Funny see I don't remember you telling me that," he replied.

"Uh huh," she replied sarcastically, "I suppose you don't remember us ever meeting too."

"We've met?" Tom answered on cue.

The girl rolled her eyes, "My name is Eleanor Ashdown you are going to call me Elly. Your name is Tom Riddle, though sometimes you seem to forget that you have a last name," she supplied for him.

"Doesn't ring a bell," Tom replied. "Actually it is quite strange. How do you know my name?"

Elly stared at him blankly for a moment. She clearly thought he was being serious. He cracked a small smile trying to give her a clue to his joke. Her lips quickly pulled back and she grinned at him, realizing that she'd been fooled. Tom's smile widened, he was improving on the whole socializing thing.

"What are you doing here during break?" he asked.

"I'm always here during break. My dad works as a security guard at the ministry. He's got to work through the holiday, so I just stay here," Elly explained to him, "How bout you?"

Tom shrugged nonchalantly, "My dad's an atheist, doesn't think that Christmas is a holiday and stuff so I'm stuck here," Tom lied. Like most of what came out of his mouth, it was still partially true. His father was an atheist, and he was stuck at Hogwarts. The two things shared no relation.

She nodded," No mom?" she asked.

Tom was starting to be annoyed by her questions. "She died when I was little," Tom replied. Most people would be shut off by that. Most people would say something about them being sorry for him and drop the subject. He of course chose the one person in the world who actually could hold a conversation about such things.

"Mine too," she replied, "About five years ago she went to the store and never came back." Her brilliant blue eyes looked distant and tired as she spoke.

"When I was three someone broke into my house…" Tom started. He stopped himself of course. He barely knew the girl he was sitting across from. He wasn't about to get into the whole 'my father's a death eater and killed my mom so that he could abduct me and my late twin brother' conversation with her. In fact he didn't plan on getting into that conversation ever, with anyone. Too many emotions came with talking about that topic.

Elly seemed to understand his reluctance to talk about it and changed the subject, "So how'd you do on the Transfigurations quiz the other day?" she asked picking the first topic that came to her mind.

Tom almost laughed at her question; school was a silly thing that he knew he would never really be concerned about. He answered her none the less and soon the two got into a conversation about magic that more or less lasted the rest of the night. It was strange actually, he never really held conversations. Even with Scott it was kind of one sided with his friend rambling on about random things. Perhaps once a month the two would share equally the amount of words that came out of their mouths. Even then their 'equal' conversation only lasted a half an hour at most.

They talked through dinner and eventually headed back up to the common room together. Once there Tom pulled out a wizard chess board and the two played for some time.

"Check mate," Tom declared at the end of their fourth game, now they were tied two to two.

Elly narrowed her blue eyes deep in thought as she stared at the board. She opened her mouth to say something when a loud creaking noise interrupted her. Both turned to see who was coming into the common room so late. Tom couldn't say that he was surprised to see Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk into the room.

"What were you guys doing out so late?" Elly demanded immediately.

"I wasn't feeling so well," Hermione answered. For once their excuse was actually believable as her voice seemed hoarse. As if on cue, she turned and started coughing violently into her sleeve. Ron and Harry exchanged worried glances before escorting their friend over to the coach.

"Are you ok," Elly asked her tone a little softer than before. She walked over to Hermione and elbowed her way through the boys. "Did you see the nurse?"

"That's where we came from," Harry replied for her, as she was still having a coughing fit. Tom was actually starting to get worried that she was going to puke or something as she didn't seem to be stopping. Then in a final choking noise something seemed to come up. Hermione turned red as she tried to hide the fact that she had just coughed up a small hair ball. Harry and Ron both stared at the disgusting brown ball in horror as all three checked to see if Tom and Elly had seen in. For a moment Harry's eyes met Tom's and he understood that whatever was going on, he didn't want it publicized, even to two class mates.

Tom then made a surprising decision, he decided that he would dig the three out of the hole they had gotten themselves into, "I don't even want to know what spell you three misused to produce that," Tom declared pointing his finger at the hair ball.

Elly gave off a small laugh, "Yeah that's gross." Ron and Harry both seemed to be immensely relieved as Hermione still sat there red in the face.

Tom kept the act going as he let out an over exaggerated yawn, "Well I think I'm going to call it a night," he said standing up. The other four second years agreed and they all headed up to their separate dormitories.

Once safely in the boys dorm Harry turned to Tom, "Thanks," he said simply.

"For what?" Tom asked giving Potter a shadow of a smile. Harry just shrugged and went back to bed.

Whatever Harry, Ron and Hermione were up to tonight Tom didn't care to know. The three of them were up to so many things that anyone trying to keep track of them would surely go mad. Tom didn't fancy going mad, rather madder than he already was. Thus he wasn't going to pester Harry about it. If he thought it was of such importance that Tom needed to know than Harry would tell him on his own accord. With that thought Tom felt himself drifting to sleep.

Two days later Tom found himself waking up to an empty dormitory. It was Christmas day and everyone else had gotten up early to open up their presents while Tom slept in. He didn't expect any presents so he was planning on just taking the day to relax.

He didn't bother changing out of his pajamas as he walked down the stairs to the common room. The floor was a mess of paper and ribbons. The other Gryffindor's must not have bothered to clean up. Tom took a seat on the couch, putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of him.

"Incendio," he said pointing his wand at the fire place. A warm flame flickered to life inside of the brick mantle. Tom let out a deep contented sigh and sat there enjoying the sound of the crackling fire. Outside he could see white flakes falling lightly from the sky. He may not have any presents under the tree, but a single evening of peace and quiet was a better present than anything he could get.

He sat there without moving for a half an hour before he was interrupted by a small popping noise. Tom glanced over to find a small figure with large ears and dark brown eyes looking up at him. Around its thin body hung a dirty pillow case.

"Mr. Riddle?" the house elf's squeaky voice asked.

"Yes?" Tom asked confused.

"I have a delivery from headmaster Dumbledore for you," it replied. It held out a quill to Tom with a note attached to it. He examined the writing utensil. It was abnormally large and a beautiful chocolate brown color with a touch of white towards the center. Tom opened the card that was attatched to it. It read:

_Tom_

_I thought you might like a small something for Christmas. I would have put it under the tree, but Magan was awfully hard to find on such short notice. Roc's are migratory birds you see. Have a good holiday._

_Dumbledore_

Tom twirled the feather in his fingers and smiled slightly. He didn't know very many wizards; however, he was quite sure that Dumbledore may just be the craziest wizard alive.


	13. Chapter 13

Tom sauntered through the library scanning each spine for something interesting. He had finished his school work during Defense class, thus he found himself in the familiar predicament of having nothing to do with his Friday evening. After learning the importance of Lockhart's collection of fancy, expensive robes, Tom thought some quality Defense education was in order. That brought him to the present as he searched through book tittles looking for advanced magic that he didn't yet know. After a half an hour of failed searching he finally settled on a seventh year text book to skim through.

"What's up," he asked as he slipped into a chair across from Scott.

Scott's blue eyes flicked up at Tom quickly before returning to the paper he had been pouring over. "You would already be finished with Snape's six page long essays," he mumbled to himself as his pen flew across the pages.

Tom snorted and started flipping through the pages of his chosen book absentmindedly. Thankfully, the information in the book was new. Unfortunately, if Lockhart was still here when Tom took Newts, the curriculum wouldn't matter as they would be too busy learning about Lockhart's favorite hand to use when stirring soup. He sighed and started to practice casting an anti-animal spell. To his pleasure he heard a cat hiss at something invisible and start to stalk out of the room followed by a very confused Hufflepuff.

Scott momentarily paused in his work to watch the cat go, "You know I asked my parents for a cat once. They said that I could have one when I got straight O's."

Tom nodded," So next year right?" he joked.

Scott snorted," Maybe I'll just buy one when I am graduated and own my own house and stuff."

It was at that point that they were interrupted by a rushed Harry Potter, "Hey do you know when your dad went to Hogwarts?" he asked immediately. Tom raised his eyebrows curiously and shrugged. He hadn't talked with Potter in ages. He had told Harry about his past last year, but he didn't see the relevance of it.

He shrugged, "My father? I guess he would have been here in the seventies," he guessed. Not that Augustine York ever talked much about his school years, or really anything about his past.

Harry frowned, "I'm talking about Voldemort."

Tom shifted uncomfortably, his face immediately solemn, "I don't know," he answered in a whisper, hoping that the rest of the school wouldn't hear," We never exactly had a heart to heart about the good old days."

Harry nodded frustrated. "Why's it matter," Tom asked.

"I found… a piece of paper. It had your name on it. It was dated about fifty years ago," Harry explained.

Tom shrugged, "It might have been my grandfather or something. I'm Tom Marvelo Riddle III, not Junior."

Harry nodded looking assured, "Ok," he said. Tom watched Harry's face carefully looking for some insight. Something about the pause between found and paper made him skeptical.

"See you around then," Tom said. Harry nodded and turned to leave. As he neared the door he was flanked by a brown haired girl and a red haired boy. The three seemed to be having an in depth conversation about something exceedingly interesting when they turned the corner.

Tom sighed, "Great," he mumbled to himself.

It was at this point when he noticed Scott staring at him confused. "Harry knows?" Scott inquired.

Tom nodded, "I'm pretty sure they are all talking about how I'm obviously the heir of Slytherin because of my lineage right now," Tom said running a hand through his hair.

Scott nodded concern clouding his eyes, "He-who-must-not-be-named went here when it was opened?" he asked quietly.

Tom scanned Scott's face carefully, "He might have," he replied defensively.

Scott nodded, "He must be really old looking now," Scott shot back jokingly. Tom shrugged. He didn't look all that old when he had seen him last year on the back of Quirrell's head. He looked at his hands. Not that it mattered. The dark lord didn't look human enough to judge age when he was just a face on the back of the Defense teacher's head.

"So Valentine's day is next week," Scott said passively.

Tom couldn't explain it, but something about that sentence he found incredibly humorous. He felt a large grin form on his face as he tried unsuccessfully to suppress laughter, "So?" he asked curious to hear his friend's answer.

"I don't know," Scott said shyly.

Tom grinned amused, "Who is she?" he asked.

"I thought maybe I'd send Pavarti a valentine or something," Scott mumbled.

Tom couldn't help it anymore he threw his head back and just let the laughter flow out of him. "I'm sorry," he apologized between fits.

Scott's face was turning a little red now," Maybe I should send something anonymous," he muttered.

"Sorry, it's not funny," Tom said trying to calm himself again, "It's not that. Send her a little heart shaped something or other if you want. It's just; I guess I think the whole idea of Valentine's day is stupid."

Scott nodded with a small frown,"Uhuh," he mumbled.

"Its fine, go ahead and do something," Tom repeated his laugher not as loud anymore. He imagined the school covered in red and pink. Students were petrified, his father may or may not have opened the chamber, Harry and company probably thought he was the heir, Crouch definitely thought he was the heir, and on top of that there was the usual stuff he had to deal with daily. Needless to say Valentine 's Day was perhaps the least of his concerns. In fact the holiday hadn't even crossed his mind until a few moments ago when Scott brought it up.

"Maybe I will," Scott replied stiffly. Tom nodded and the two got back to their work, or rather Scott did. Tom on the other hand got up to go have a chat with Snape. He had some questions that needed some answers.

He opened the door to find two Ravenclaw fifth years busy with detention. Snape was sitting at the front desk watching them like a warden would his prisoners.

"Come to join Mr. Benson and Mr. Reynolds have you Tom?" Snape asked when he saw Tom entering the room.

"No," Tom answered simply.

"That's unfortunate. They have quite a bit of work to do, they could use some help. Why are you here then," Snape asked with a smirk. Tom glanced over his shoulder at the sorry looking Ravenclaws. Both were glaring at Snape at the moment.

"I have some questions," Tom started.

Snape frowned," Yes I have noticed a lack of pointless inquiries lately, I must have been mistaken in thinking that you had found a bit of common sense." Tom didn't answer instead he just waited, "In my office," Snape finished after a moment. Tom walked in and shut the door behind him, leaving the two fifth years alone in the classroom.

"Harry found something with my name on it," Tom said.

"As fascinated as I am by Potter's breakthrough discovery, I don't see where the question was in there," Snape replied snappily.

"It was dated fifty years ago," Tom continued. Snape's eyebrow went up prompting Tom again to get to the point. "Did the Dark Lord go here fifty years ago?"

Snape paused for a moment," Yes he did," Snape replied.

"Is it then possible that he opened the chamber?" Tom inquired

"It is possible that anyone attending the school at that time to have opened it," Snape replied vaguely, "Someone was convicted fifty years ago. They are still here and I assure you they will be removed at any more signs of trouble," Snape finished professionally.

Tom frowned," Who?"

"It is not my business to tell you which oaf opened it," Snape snapped.

"So Hagrid did then?" Tom asked slightly shocked. No offense to Hagrid, but he seemed too simple minded to get into the entire muggle born pure blood thing.

"I said someone was convicted," Snape sneered again.

Tom narrowed his eyes thinking over Snape's words. "You don't think Hagrid did it then, but he was still convicted," Tom guessed.

Snape's gaze was becoming increasingly impatient as it bored into Tom. Then all of a sudden Tom felt a sudden rush of force pressuring his head. Immediately he put up Occlemency wall and the pressure stopped.

Snape's lips curled slightly as his mouth slipped into a cynical shadow of a smile. "Clearly you have been following my instructions," Snape scorned sarcastically.

"Sorry professor," Tom mumbled," I won't forget again."

"I highly doubt that," Snape mumbled under his breath.

Tom sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he exited the room. Neither found it necessary to bother with the formalities of a goodbye. Tom's thoughts were far too busy traveling back fifty years. Perhaps he should talk with Hagrid tomorrow, just to be sure. It might not be necessary; however, it never hurt anyone to be sure.


	14. Chapter 14

"You don't think it's too much?" Scott asked worriedly.

Tom let out deep sigh, "Its anonymous Scott. She won't know if it's you or not so why does it matter?" he pointed out. Scott bit his lip uncertain as he stared down at the flower he held in his hand. Attached to it was a note with a lengthy gushy poem scrawled onto it. Scott must have rewritten it six times before he finally deemed it acceptable.

"You're right," Scott mumbled, more to himself than to Tom.

"You going to go give it to the munchkins they got running around the Great Hall now?" Tom asked amused.

"I believe that they are called dwarfs," Scott shot back annoyed. Tom snorted as the two headed to lunch.

To say that Lockhart had overdone it was being too kind. The Great Hall was littered with pink. Between the streamers that hung suspended in the air and the small heart shaped paper cut outs that decorated the table the room was definitely made for Valentine's Day. Along the walls was about ten four foot tall men all who looked irritated. Scott looked both ways before scurrying over to one of the dwarves and handing him a letter.

"Give this to Pavarti Patel please," Scott asked. The dwarf looked at the Rose then back at Scott. A vein was popping out of its forehead as it snatched the flower out of Scott's hands and stormed towards the Gryffindor table.

Tom held back laughter," Well he seems elated."

Scott didn't respond instead he just rolled his eyes and the two proceeded to their spot at the table. Tom watched with mild interest as the dwarf trotted over to Pavarti and shoved the Rose at her. She took it slightly confused as she read the letter. As soon as her eyes passed over the final line a red blush formed on her cheeks and she quickly turned to Lavander. Scott was sighing deeply as the two girls giggled to each other.

"This holiday is ridiculous," Tom muttered.

"Have you thought about what you're going to take next year?" Scott asked changing the subject.

"They haven't sent out registration yet," Tom replied.

"They said to start thinking about it," Scott replied.

Tom shrugged," I don't know. I guess I want to take something I don't already know."

Scott nodded, "Yeah I was thinking Care of Magical Creatures and Divinations. They look like the easiest."

Tom paused for a moment mentally going over the list. "Maybe muggle studies," he considered, "It's the one thing I never really learned much about."

Scott grinned, "I remember when you got all worked up cause you were scared of my parents car."

"Hilarious," Tom muttered sarcastically.

"And," Scott prompted, "You need two."

Tom shrugged," Study of Ancient Runes I guess. My father was rotten at that so I never knew much about it."

Scott nodded, "Lee was talking to me the other day. He said that the divinations teacher was really easy. I think I'll take the Creature thing cause it sounds like thats what everyone else is taking"

"Yeah but when do you realistically need to know how to take care of a dragon or tell the future," Tom asked," I mean unless you want to be a seer when you grow up Divinations is more or less useless."

Scott shrugged, "Who cares if its useless. I'm not getting an O in charms or defense against the dark arts so I need to get one somewhere."

"Suit yourself," Tom replied indifferently, "Guess we're going to be splitting up next year."

"Guess so," Scott mumbled.

Tom shrugged and clapped his hands together, "We should head to Transfigurations." With that the two left lunch in silence.

Time passed as it always does. Both of the boys signed up for their original class choices and Scott got over the fact he would be facing two classes without any friends. Personally Tom didn't see the big deal; however, Tom didn't have an abnormal need to constantly have his motor mouth moving. At the moment Scott was babbling about the Gryffindor Hufflepuff match that was going on in a few hours.

"We already have it won," Scott was saying," I mean we won three out of our last four games against them. How could we not?"

"I have no idea," Tom said with heavy sarcasm in his voice.

"Anyway I bet…" Scott continued, pretending he hadn't heard him. Tom tuned him out, they were nearing the exit into the courtyard and the sunlight streaming in was distracting him.

Suddenly a shadow passed in front of the light. Tom felt a chill rush through his spine. The words were so much louder than they had been before

_Come to me. Let me rip you. Let me tear you. Let me kill you. Yes let me kill you_

He must be closer to the threat than last time. Tom reached into his cloak and pulled his wand out of it. Than without a warning Tom broke into a sprint.

"Where are you going?" Scott called alarmed.

"Shhhhh," Tom said sharply, "There's a voice."

Scott didn't ask any more questions he just fell into step with Tom. To Tom's surprise he found that Scott's cardio actually matched his own. A childhood full of boxing lessons wasn't a complete waste on his hopelessly athletically challenged friend. The voice was quieter now as Tom sped up trying to regain ground. His surroundings past in a blur, but Tom knew all too well where he was.

"Hey Tom I don't hear anything," Scott huffed next to him.

"It's going towards the library," Tom muttered back. The two rounded the corner on the third floor crashing into the room.

It was more or less empty and quiet in the library, except for two girls sitting at two tables. The voice sounded so clear in the room it was a wonder no one else could hear it. He paused holding a hand out to Scott so that he could survey his surroundings.

One of the girls stood up suddenly, "A basilisk," she said," Of course it's a basilisk."

Tom frowned staying in his spot as he racked his brain for wherever he heard that name before. His father had said something about it. If he remembered right it was some sort of creature. A snake maybe? Tom stood there for another moment just thinking. The voices growing proximity didn't register as his memories started to envelop him.

Then just like that he heard Scott gasp. The world came rushing back again. The first girl was holding a mirror up as the other girl peeked over her shoulder to check out what the first was doing. Both were frozen in a scarily still state. Tom's eyes instinctually went to the mirror. An abnormally large green tail was moving in it.

_The gritty laughter sounded loudly, "you think that little snake is bad boy? You want to see something bad. A basilisk, now that is bad. Pray you never meet one they will kill you with one look."_

Tom's memory came rushing back to him, "Scott close your eyes_,"_ he demanded suddenly. He closed his own eyes and slowly walked out of the room dragging Scott with him by the arm. They made their way in this fashion all the way to the transfigurations court yard where they intersected Dumbledore on his way to the match.

"It's a basilisk," Tom said solemnly.

Dumbledore's eyes clouded," How many?"

"Two," Tom replied.

Dumbledore nodded," Well I believe we have a quidditch game to stop."

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><p>Some feedback would really make my day. Hint hint wink wink review review :D<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Super sorry for the wait. My english teacher dropped a bomb on us this week in the form of a six page long research paper so I've been a bit busy. Hopefully it will get better soon but no promises. Thanks for all of you guys support I really appreciate it.

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><p>Tom and Scott stood in Dumbledore's office while events unraveled around the castle. McGonagall was to go stop the quidditch game and gather Hermione and the Clearwater girl's close friends to notify them. All of the other students were to report to their common rooms while Dumbledore was out somewhere figuring out their response to the recent attacks. Scott was pacing at the moment while his mouth ran faster than the speed of light.<p>

"It was a snake Tom. I swear I saw a snake. That explains everything," was what he was currently saying. Give it another few minutes and he would get back on the whole we're all doomed thing again. Tom hadn't said a word of explanation to Scott yet, his own thoughts were far too busy to comprehend speech at the moment. There was a crackling noise and suddenly three men were in the room.

"Dumbledore-" one of them started. He stopped short though when he realized the only people in the room were his. Scott suddenly seemed invisible to the three men as all eyes were trained on Tom. At least two were, the third pair moved onto him after the man realized the other two were staring.

"Mr. Riddle," the first man said, "What a… surprise."

Tom kept his face solid, not giving away anything. He knew each of these men, unfortunately. The first was a built black auror. Tom didn't have a name for him, but he had been running security at his first and second trial at the ministry. The second man, standing in the middle, was the minister. He was the one who had spoken a moment ago. The third, Tom had seen once in Florish and Blotts over the summer and only for a brief moment, but his identity was more obvious than the first. Lucius Malfoy stood tall with a permanent look of displeasure displayed in the creases of his face.

"Minister," Tom greeted. He tried to avoid out right malice, but he was only partially suscessful. He probably sounded just slightly displeased. The two stood there staring for a moment, neither having much to say.

Finally Lucius Malfoy broke the silence, "Are you going to introduce us to your young friend Minister?" he asked with a polite tone.

"I'm the kid they found with Augustine York Mr. Malfoy," Tom replied bitterly. It probably wasn't smart to be so rude to the minister of magic. Maybe it would have been a little brighter to say Mr. Malfoy with a bit of genuine respect in his voice. Of course he didn't. He hadn't realized how much anger he had pent up towards the man. Not that the minister had done anything outwardly condemning towards Tom, but he had allowed every trial to happen. He was still allowing them to happen.

Lucius Malfoy's mouth twitched with what Tom identified as fear when he mentioned his father's name. It took a good deal of self-control to withhold the wry smile that he was dying to give the three men. That would be pushing his already thin luck.

"Yes and what brings you to Dumbledore's office today?" the minister said, trying to clear the air of Tom's blunt statement.

"We were walking to the library and we found Hermione and Penelope," a new voice said. The three adults turned in surprise as they first noticed Scott's presence in the room.

"What is your name young man," the minister inquired with a fake sugary sweetness.

"Scott McNight," Scott answered boldly.

Lucius Malfoy's lip curled slightly," I don't recognize your last name Mr. McNight. Do I know your parents?" In non-political speak Lucius Malfoy just asked if Scott was a mudblood or not.

"I'm a muggle born," Scott replied proudly. "You wouldn't know my parents."

"Oh," Lucius Malfoy said his eyes narrowing slightly as if to magnify his distaste.

"Anyway," Scott continued ignoring the blonde man's comment, " As I was saying Tom and I were going to the library to grab a book while it was empty. When we got there we found Hermione and Penelope already petrified. In Hermione's mirror when we got there I saw what looked like a snake tale. We notified Dumbledore and he told us to stay here while he dealt with things. We are waiting, me and Tom."

Over the year and a half that he had known Scott there had been very few moments when he had genuinely respected him as an equal. He was a nice kid for sure, but there was always that feeling that you were standing next to a five year old. Right now as Scott stood there staring Lucius Malfoy in the eye and completely disrespected him, Tom had never felt more proud of his best friend.

"You two found the petrified students?" the minister said his eyes turning to Tom momentarily. The man looked conflicted. If Tom had his guess it would be that Crouch had given this man an earful about him. Now was the first time they had actually met face to face and Tom hadn't tried to strange any muggles in a psychotic break down. Clearly this didn't fit Crouch's description.

Lucius Malfoy pulled out a pocket watch to look at it, "The council has probably made their decision on the headmaster by now," he said addressing the minister," I will go collect their results and catch up with you."

The minister nodded piercing his lips slightly, "Yes go ahead, I'm sure he will be returning soon."

"What council?" Scott blurted out. Tom could see the confidence his friend had displayed a moment ago had evaporated as Scott looked like he was regretting speaking.

"Nothing of your concern," Lucius Malfoy said his eyes piercing into Scott in an admonishing way. Tom gritted his teeth. The blonde death eater spun on his heels and stalked into the crackling fire place. Only pausing once to briefly throw some green powder into the hearth.

The minister stared blankly at the floor for a moment while the four remaining people stood in an awkward silence waiting for Dumbledore to arrive. The wait was unbearably long, although he probably only took ten minutes to get there. Dumbledore did make his grand entrance after a moment.

"Cornelius," Dumbleodre said sweeping an arm out to welcome the minister, "What a surprise."

The minister shifted to his other foot and shook Dumbledore's hand tentatively. The look of discomfort seemed to increase as Dumbledore put on a show of friendliness.

"To what occasion do I owe this pleasure," Dumbledore inquired.

The minister's eyes flickered over to Tom and Scott, "Perhaps not in the presence of the students?"

"Of course," Dumbledore said,"Mr. McNight would you please head to your common room. I believe that Peeves is just outside my door, have him escort you. We aren't allowing students to walk alone in the halls anymore"

Scott nodded and walked out slowly a confused expression was clear in the crease between his eyebrows. The minister didn't look satisfied though," Mr. Riddle is a student too Dumbledore."

The old man smiled," I believe that you have Mr. Riddle is currently rather high on your suspect list. Anything pertaining to the Chamber of Secrets is his business too."

The minister pierced his lips but didn't argue. "We've come to get Hagrid," the minister said.

"I thought so," Dumbledore said his voice a quiet sad whisper.

"Crouch has been pushing for me to bring in you too," the minister said addressing Tom, "It will only be so long that I can make up excuses why not to."

"You are the Minister of Magic," Tom said solemnly. "If you truly believed I was innocence you wouldn't need to make up excuses not to arrest me. You would just tell Crouch that the matter was closed." Tom didn't wait for the minister to respond to him he just turned and started walking. He took his time getting to the common room. If students were going to need escorts to classes from now on, than this was liable to be his last alone time for a while. He was going to make the most of it.

It was amazing how many shadows the school had when it was dark outside. Every time he turned a corner it seemed to reveal a new darker patch of floor. Without the noise of the students in the halls there was a faint dripping sound creating an echo. Every few steps he took he could hear the splash of a puddle under his feet. He paused for a moment to stick his head out a window. There was a full moon tonight and it was casting an eerie shadow across the forest. In the distance Tom could see some figures exiting Hagrid's hut. He wished he was closer so that he knew what had happened, but of course he wasn't so he moved on.

It took him another half an hour to reach the tower after he took a few more detours, a stop at the bathroom, a stop at another window, a stop to take a better look at a statue, ect. When he reached the tower three people were standing in the common room, all second years.

The first was Scott who stood up immediately his eyes clouded with worry when Tom entered. Tom eyes met Scott's calmly sending a message, later. The other two boys in the room were much more interesting at the moment. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were wheezing just inside the entrance to the room. They looked like they had just came in and Ron was muttering something about spiders.

"Sup Harry," Tom asked smoothly.

Harry glanced over and bit his lip exchanging a look with Ron, "We just went to visit Hagrid," he began.

"And they arrested him?" Tom asked.

Harry nodded," He didn't do it though, we know,"

"It doesn't matter if he did or not," Tom said." Fudge declared it and so it shall be."

"They kicked Dumbledore out," Harry said.

Tom's eyebrows raised shocked, "How?"

"Lucius Malfoy," was Harry's answer.

Tom bit his lip, Dumbledore was gone, Hagrid was gone. The only thing more they could do was shut down the entire school. And of course arrest Tom too. He sighed Hogwarts was falling apart and if he could do nothing to stop it.


	16. Chapter 16

Life proceeded to fall into a controlled chaos. Students weren't allowed in the hall way without the escort of a teacher. Students weren't allowed to be anywhere but their common rooms after six. Tom isn't allowed to investigate. Tom isn't allowed to try and fix things. Tom is most likely going to end up in Azkaban after the school shuts down. One could argue that it began when he found Hermione and Penelope petrified. That was after all the point in which the school started its downward spiral. This isn't when it began for Tom though.

He and Scott went to Transfigurations class that day just like normal, if you overlook the fact that Filch stalked behind them as their official escort. They entered the classroom pulled out their notes and started craning their heads looking for an unnaturally alert cat to walk into the room. When she came she transformed in front of everyone as expected, but there was something off in her expression. Stress was deeply engrained in the wrinkles of her face as she herself grieved for Hogwarts imminent closure.

It was at this point that she made the announcement, "Finals will be in a week," she told the class. Everyone in the room went stiff. Finals in a week? How did the professors expect students to be ready for finals in a week? They weren't prepared for the quiz that was supposed to be Thursday let alone finals. That wasn't why Tom froze up though. School was going to end early what was going to happen to him? What if it never reopened?

Tom fought the urge to run out of the room that instant. He needed to get away. He had spent the first thirteen years of his life living in a cave, he could do it forever, just him and the crickets. McGonagall continued to start with the review on all the previous chapters they learned throughout the year. Tom's mind was far away in a prison located in a seemingly unreachable place. A man stood in shackles there. Lavander eyes illuminated in the moonlight, the crazed look that usually was instilled in them seemed impossibly worse in the wizard prison. He imagined walking through the hall to his own cell that has been waiting for two years for him to come. He can hear his father cursing at him through the wall. The last time he had seen the man he had failed to raise his wand to the aurors that had come for them. Now his father was in jail and he was sitting pretty in one of the most prestigious schools in the country. He could only imagine the words his father had been saving for him or worse the beatings that he would receive if the man were ever freed.

Tom felt his hands beginning to shake violently. When McGonagall dismissed class he stood up and walked away like a robot. He had completely forgotten about Scott's existence until his friend ran up to him and fell into step with him. After ten minutes he realized Scott was blabbering the way he did when he was nervous. Tom needed everything to go away in that moment he needed to be a shell of a person so that is what he became.

Tom closed his eyes for a moment letting the magic he knew he possessed flow through him. He pushed it upwards towards his head wrapping it around his mind sealing everything away. The Occlemency wall formed but it different. Now not only was he sealing it off from the outside world but from himself too. The heaviness that weighed down on him lifted. His entire conscience was consumed completely with controlling the magic it blocked away the pain. The thoughts were certainly not gone; they simply weren't at the forefront of his mind anymore.

Then the strangest thing happened. They passed Snape on the way to the common room. Tom felt the black eyes on him staring for a moment. He said nothing, there was no look of disapproval on his face, he simply glanced at Tom. Was that a hint of a smile he saw on the man's face? He didn't think about it for long because soon they were in the common room and Scott was freaking out about finals.

"Do you need help?" Tom asked after Scott finished rambling about how he was going to fail.

"Yes please," Scott mumbled sheepishly.

"What do you want me to teach you?" Tom asked. Scott was becoming increasingly aware of Tom's seriousness. It was slightly worse than usual at the moment. Scott brushed it off quickly if Tom wanted to share he would share. Prying would get Scott nowhere.

The two started with potions how to brew the drought of the living dead. Then they slowly made their way to charms, how to make a plant grow faster. At this point Neville Longbottem came over to join them. Apparently Tom wasn't a half bad teacher. When they got to transfigurations, how to turn a bowl into a flounder, Dean and Seamus were also there. Over the next three days Tom tutored half the second years in Gryffindor. It was an amazing distraction.

On the fourth day Tom walked to Snape's office and knocked on the door. His thoughts kept going back to that moment the other day when Snape simply said nothing. When the door swung open Snape didn't even look up to see who had entered.

"Why are you here without an escort," Snape snapped.

"If I came across whatever snake is hurting people do you honestly think I would die? You think I would be petrified like the little first year with the camera?" Tom asked bitterly.

Snape didn't answer so Tom took it as a no. "I did it," Tom said, "I'm an oclemens."

Snape looked up pain flashing between his eyes, "Congratulations," he said, not particularly ecstatic about Tom's feat.

"Is that why you mastered it too?" Tom asked, "to block it all away."

Snape looked up and looked Tom directly in the eye. For a moment, a brief moment, the usual coldness of the two black circles lifted to reveal the deepest of sorrows. Neither of the two were men of many words. They both found that non verbal communication was so much more effective, thus the level of understanding that flowed into Tom from this small exchange was quite sizable. Occlemency wasn't a defence system from dark wizards trying to invade one's mind. It was a defense system from one's closest friends. It covered up the pain of the past and allowed for the illusion that they are living in the present to form. Only a man who had endured the deepest of pain would ever have any hope of mastering the technique for only a man of such stature would find the need for it.

"They'll be here soon to come for you," Snape said the coldness returning to his eyes.

Tom nodded, "I know."

"The dementors," Snape started," Use your occlemency it will make things easier."

"When do you think it will happen?" Tom asked.

"When the next attack occurs," Snape replied, "They took in the oaf. When they realize it's the wrong person they'll come for you next."

"You think that another attack will happen before school ends?" Tom asked surprised.

"With Dumbledore gone its inevitable," Snape said confirming Tom's fears.

The two remained there for a minute saying nothing, just staring at each other with solemn faces. With that Tom gave Snape a slight nod, as a nod was a suitable parting for the two, and left walking briskly to his dorm.

They arrived during the Potions final. Wizards weren't allowed a wand for it because it wasn't necessary for making potions. There was four of them, among them Tom recognized one, the tall sturdy black auror that had been at so many of his trials. Tom didn't even ask why they were there. He just glanced over at Scott who was looking at the four men with a devastated look. He gave his best friend a nod wordlessly. Their time together had been some of the best days in his life.

Tom proceeded to walk on his own free will out of the room without their prompting. In the hallway they cuffed him.

"Ready to meet the dementors, heir?" one of them asked, his sour breath falling on Tom's back as the man cuffed him.

Tom gritted his teeth and put up his Occlemency wall. The reality was that he would never truly be ready, but in that moment he felt he had done all the preparing that could have possibly been done.


	17. Chapter 17

"Oi, wake up boy," a gruff voice said. Tom felt his cheek stinging. Someone was slapping him to consciousness. He jerked his head up and immediately started taking inventory. He wasn't injured, his occlemency was up and running, and he wasn't in Azkaban. At least he didn't think he was. He was strapped to a wooden chair in a dark room. To his right he could see the outline of a door frame and to his left was a barred window. The moon light that glowed through the window was the only source of light. In front of him was a slim bony man sitting on a stool.

The man's pale face was like a beacon of brightness in the darkness; however, his precence by no means made him feel any more welcome. The grease that slicked back his black hair had an unnatural sheen from the moonlight. When combined with the black robes he was wearing the man had an uncanny similarity with what he imagined Dracula to be like.

"I'm going to tell you now that there are two ways this is going to go," the man said, "Either you are going to be nice with me, or you are going to suffer. Kapish?"

Tom looked the man in the eye lazily. "What do you want to know?" Tom asked impatiently. He was done sitting through ministry protocols. He wanted to move onto the rest of his life, whether that be in prison or elsewhere.

The man's mouth twitched slightly, "Did your father give you a mission or something once you got to Hogwarts. You were on the run for thirteen years with the man. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that you were found."

Tom snorted," With all due respect sir, I think you are reading into things too much. My father was a crazed man who very rarely took precautions about being discovered. I'm actually surprised it took the auror office so long to find us. The timing wasn't planned it merely took thirteen years for the aurors to overcome their own inadequacy."

That looked like it struck a chord in the man. His face became taught and a shadow formed under his eyes. "I see, so how was it then that you came across the Chamber of Secrets," he asked.

"Again you seem to be mistaken. I have not opened it. I don't even think I'm the heir," Tom said.

The man's eyes narrowed, "I thought we were being cooperative?"

"I thought I was," Tom shot back, "I maintain my innocence."

"That's all good and well," the man muttered. He reached into his left pocket for his wand. Immediately Tom started assessing his odds of escape. It felt like he was cuffed with mettle so there was no chance of getting rid of them manually. When he focused he could sense an unnerving amount of protection spells in place so no chance of escape by magic. If he did manage to free himself from his bonds he would have to leave through the door. In other words it looked like he wasn't going anywhere.

The man pressed the tip of his wand against Tom's throat and looked him in the eye. "Perhaps something more direct will be better. Where is the Chamber of Secrets?"

Tom felt his face stretch into a large grin as laughter started overcome him. He probably looked insane right now, but he didn't care. After all he had been through he had the right to be insane. "Are you going to sink to his level now? I thought the ministry was above it all?" Tom taunted laughter bubbling up between words, " Do it I dare you, it won't work though."

The man's brow creased as he flicked his wrist, "Crucio," he said in a clear voice. There was a red flash as the spell absorbed into his chest. Then nothing, no screaming or kicking or pleading for mercy.

"You should really go through your reports," Tom informed the man, "I believe I told the entire ministry I was immune to that curse in my first trial."

The man narrowed his eyes at Tom. "Now what?" Tom asked curiously.

He leaned back on his stool and examined Tom carefully. " Azkaban will do the work," he said with a sick smile, "You'll break under the dementors, they always do."

For the first time that day Tom felt a surge of fear swell in his stomach. The man walked around and unclicked him from the chair. A bag was stuffed over his head blocking out his sight. Time passed. At some point they apparated somewhere. At another they went through the floo network. He didn't need to ask when they were there. He felt it. The earlier cockiness vanished as Jonathan's screams started to fill his ears. _They're not real_, he told himself, _they're not real he's dead._ He shut his eyes and tried to disappear. This was it. This was how it was going to be for the rest of his life.

Snape's face came to mind at some point. Occlemency was supposed to help right? Tom pushed his emotions into the magical casing and curled into a ball. More time passed, he could hear other people screaming now probably the other inmates. There were no words to describe the despair that weighed on him. He deserved this he reminded himself. This is what they do to murderers.

More time passed and then for a brief moment he felt relief wash over him. He propped his head up to look what happened. He was in a dark cell that had no walls. He was simply surrounded by bars. Around him he say countless people yelling. They looked like they were trying to scare him as they all seemed to be staring at him. He studied each face looking for one he recognized. They were all strangers. His father wasn't on this floor or anywhere near him. His relief intensified.

"Hey," he heard a man whisper from next to him. Tom jumped and turned to see the speaker.

"H-hi," Tom stuttered. To his right was a bony man with black hair that fell in a tangled mess to his waste. No doubt this man had been here for a long time.

"My name's Sirius Black," the man said holding a hand out shakily to him, "You don't look like the normal lot here. What did they nail you for?"

Tom shook the man's hand, "Something I didn't do," he replied vaguely, "Why are the dementors gone?"

"They are switching shifts, apparently they sleep like humans do," Sirius said, "Give it an hour they'll be back." His voice was a hoarse whisper when he said the final word.

Tom pulled his knees to his chest, "Why are you here?" he asked. What he really wanted to know was what the man's left arm looked like, but he figured asking him if he was a death eater was a little direct.

"They nailed me for murder," Sirius said his voice laced with hate. "They think I killed my best mate and his wife. I didn't though. I tried to get the jack ass that did and look where I ended up."

"You're innocent then?" Tom asked.  
>Sirius looked at Tom with sad eyes. "How old are you?" he asked.<p>

"Fourteen I think. I might be fifteen, my birthday's this month and I don't know what day it is anymore," Tom answered.

Sirius let out a bitter sigh, "leave it to the justice system," he muttered.

There was a loud noise of a door craning open. The dementors were returning. Tom felt the despair returning and he put his head in between his knees closing his eyes. Occlemency, he tried to remind himself. It didn't work well enough. He felt his past flashing through his eyes. This needed to stop. This needed to stop. This will never stop.


	18. Chapter 18

Tom felt his body shaking. He didn't know how long he had been in the tiny cell anymore. There was no way to tell time here as it always seemed to be night. In all his life he never thought he would miss the feeling of warmth so much. The people in the cells around him never stopped yelling. Some of them were yelling in pain, and others were yelling at the dementors, telling them the dark lord would come and save them soon. In their yelling he found something new to fear. What if he did come back? Then what would happen to Tom. He never could keep up these thoughts long because as soon as he did a dementor would start coming towards him attracted to his fear.

It made things so much worse when they were focused on you. It was then that the cold and depression turned into extreme hallucinations. The first time his thoughts wandered he found himself witnessing Scott's death. His best friend was standing in front of him smiling cheerfully one second. Then he was on the ground soaked in a warm red liquid. It was one too many deaths for one boy to see in a life time. Tom threw his body at the bars towards the spot where he thought Scott was screaming. He didn't remember when he passed out, but the next comprehensible moment was during the next shift. He was laying on the ground shivering and moaning, "Not him too."

Sirius had looked at him square in the eye and asked, "Who too?"

"Scott," Tom replied with a sob, "He's dead. They killed him right there earlier." He lifted a shaky finger and pointed to where Scott's body had been. Of course it was gone as it had never really been there.

"Tom you need to listen to me," Sirius had said in a sharp voice, "The people outside are out there for good and you are here for good. You're friend isn't dead unless he died before you got here. Your sanity is all you have left. Don't let them take that too." Tom looked up at the man wearily taking in every word.

"I was hallucinating," he said to both Sirius and himself.

"Yeah," Sirius mumbled in response. Tom never let his Occlemency wall fall again after that. He couldn't afford any more lapses. It was too painful to deal with.

More time passed and Tom was starting to notice the communication system going on in the prison. During the shifts some of the people continued to scream even though they probably could've stopped and enjoyed their break from despair. He asked Sirius about it one time.

"I know they have one," was Sirius' response, "I don't know what they are saying to each other though. I don't have any friends in here you see."

Tom was mildly inclined to correct him saying that he didn't have friends here as it would seem that now he has one. Tom didn't though. He would have to go slightly crazier before he actually started speaking to people about feelings and whatnot. That type of thing simply wasn't him, not even here.

It was somewhere in between the seventh and tenth change of shifts when it happened. Tom was lying down in a crumpled heap against the bars he shared with Sirius. He felt the dementors leave as the blanket of despair lifted ever so slightly. At first things were normal, with the various screams and what not. Then everything went silent. There wasn't a soul in the entire prison uttering a word. It was an eerie silence. The type that is so unnatural it leaves you with a feeling of terror.

"I KNOW YOU ARE HERE BOY," a familiar voice boomed. "SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DON'T LISTEN BOY?" There was a maniacal laugh following the yell. Tom's hands started shaking violently. He curled up, putting his head between his knees and started rocking back and forth. It had been two years since he last heard his father's voice. Two years and all it took was eight words for him to drive more fear into Tom's heart then a prison's worth of dementors ever could.

Suddenly every death eater in the place had something to talk about as cat calls were echoing off the walls. Tom wished for the billionth time he had ear plugs but he didn't.

More time passed but after that day it was infinitely worse. When the dementors were there he was plagued by his fear of them. When they left he was plagued by his fear of his father who he had learned was on the floor above him. The next time he talked to Sirius was five more shift changes after words.

"Tom?" Sirius whispered.

Tom raised his head slightly to show his neighbor that he was listening.

"I'm leaving soon," Sirius said.

"Is your sentence up?" Tom inquired.

Sirius didn't answer. His eyes grew darker as he enjoyed some kind of humor Tom didn't understand. "My sentence will never be up," Sirius said simply. Tom understood what his neighbor was saying immediately. This was Sirius' way of saying goodbye.

"You leaving before next shift?" Tom asked.

Sirius shrugged, "Not sure. Soon. I might be here for a little longer. Thought it would be better for me to tell you now rather than just disappearing when the moment is right."

Tom let out a small wry smile. "When you're out will you send a letter to someone for me?" he asked.

Sirius nodded.

"Send it to Scott McNight. Tell him that I didn't do it whatever anyone says. Tell him that he's still my best mate and that I'm staying strong in here ok," Tom said. Sirius raised a dark eye brow at the last sentence. They both knew it wasn't true. Tom lost his strength the minute his father's declared his presence but Scott didn't need to know that.

"I will," Sirius said. Then the dementors came back and they both sank back into their individual miseries.

Sirius wasn't the one who got out first though. It happened on May 16th but he didn't learn the date until later. He had been in his cell in Azkaban for about two weeks at that point. He had been curled up in a ball when he heard the clicking of the door to his cell. At first he thought it was meal time, but that didn't make sense as he had just finished consuming the questionable muck a little earlier. When he dared to look up his heart nearly leapt with joy. An old man with a long white beard hanging down to his waist stood in front of him. The navy blue robes he wore reflected in the moon light. Two blue eyes stared down at him behind the half-moon spectacles. No words were spoken between the two. Dumbledore simply held out his hand and helped Tom to his feet.

The minister of magic was with Dumbledore. They wanted to help Tom walk out of the prison as Tom had grown weak from two weeks of not walking or standing. Tom wouldn't let them though. He limped out of the place using bars of other's cells to help him. It was a message to his father, though he might never receive it. He wanted him to know that he was strong enough to get out of this on his own two feet.

Once out of the room with the cells the three walked into a small room that sealed behind him. It was in here that Tom collapsed, away from prying eyes. Dumbledore reached his hand down and put it on Tom's shoulder. Then they weren't in Azkaban anymore they were in Hogwarts, the infirmary to be exact.

Then Madame Pomfrey was by his side helping him onto a bed and spooning some kind of liquid into his mouth. It was some kind of strengthening tonic because the minute it reached his stomach he felt loads better.

"Mr. Riddle," the minister began, "Let me express my deepest apologies for what has just happened."

"Your deepest apologies?" Tom interrupted not believing what he was hearing. "I take it you've realized I didn't hurt anyone then?"

"Yes," the minister said clearly uncomfortable with this. "It appears that we made a great mistake in all this."

"Do you have any idea..." Tom started before silencing himself, "You know what. Let's hear your explanation of this. Explain to me exactly how this mistake occurred."

Fudge was turning white at this point and Tom couldn't say he was sorry about it. "Well Mr. Riddle, it is undeniable that there was evidence from your past that was suspicious," he began carefully. Tom raised an eyebrow, this was making him very very mad. Fudge seemed to realize this and silenced himself. "I'm very sorry," he said again.

"Who was it then?" Tom snapped, "Who'd you arrest?"

"No one," the minister said his professional aura returning. "He-who-must-not-be-named was the perpetrator."

Tom felt his face getting hot and his heart sink. "Tom Riddle Jr. was the perpetrator," the minister said clearing his throat. "As you can see our suspicions were not completely incorrect. Again our greatest apologies for the mistake. I must go now, as I am a very busy man." Tom suddenly had the greatest urge to spit in the minister's face. That is what his father would've done. He wasn't going to sink to that level though. Seeing that Tom wasn't going to respond the minister stood and started to leave. Now Tom and Dumbledore were alone in the room.

"Voldemort left a diary behind when he fell," Dumbledore said softly. "He locked a part of himself in that diary Tom. The diary got back to Hogwarts, and it was that diary that opened the chamber."

"It's gone then?"

"Mr. Potter was kind enough to destroy it during our absence," Dumbledore said.

"What now?"

"I believe you are more or less a free man," Dumbledore said, "The ministry would be foolish to push your imprisonment again. I doubt even Crouch could get you into so much as a check up trial."

Tom leaned back and rested his head on the pillow taking in everything. "What about this school year, examinations and such?"

Dumbledore let out a small laugh," I think under the circumstances that you are excused. The feast is in an hour. If you feel up to it you may attend. "

"I'll go," Tom said.

"I will see you at the feast then," Dumbledore said. With that the old man exited.

Tom felt his eyelids getting heavy. He had an hour before the feast started and he planned on using it to make up for two weeks of restless sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

Tom woke fifteen minutes before the feast feeling vaguely refreshed. He took his arms and pushed himself into a sitting position. He might feel refreshed but his body most certainly wasn't back to full strength. His legs quaked violently as he attempted to get to his feet. It was useless. He sank back down into the bed and scanned the room carefully. He noticed that there was an absence of frozen bodies in the other beds- the others must be healed. Then he caught a glimpse of himself in the window of the infirmary. His face was unnaturally gaunt. He had gone months with nothing more to eat than some rice and never looked so thin. He looked away from the window almost immediately as his thoughts started to sink back into Azkaban. He needed to find some way to get to the Great Hall.

Of course Madame Pomefrey had chosen this moment to disappear. He sighed and searched for his wand on the little table beside the bed to find that there was a piece of paper with it- a note. It read:

_I had to go assist in the kitchen. There is a wheel chair in the corner or a pair of crutches if you prefer them. If you do not feel strong enough do not go to the feast._

_-Madame Pomfrey_

Tom crinkled the paper and tossed it aside. The wheelchair was in the corner just as the note said with a pair of crutches sitting on top of it. He grabbed his wand and flicked his wrist mentally calling them to him. The chair wheeled obediently towards him bearing the crutches with them. He would use the later as they would make him appear stronger for the others. With some difficulty he pushed himself to his feet. His legs started to shake, but he was steady. Step by step he inched his way out the door. His mind started going over the rhythm of his steps. Right foot, left foot, right crutch, left crutch. Then repeat. Soon he found himself in the hallway then the stairs. The stair case required some maneuvering as he lowered his body down each individual step like it was a cliff. He had to use mostly upper body strength as his legs weren't strong enough to handle steps on their own. Finally after what seemed like forever he was on the main floor.

Some stranglers were still making their way into the room as he limped his way into the entrance. The hall was so full of happiness and fond memories he felt his heart swell with joy. The emotion was so strange in his chest after the past few weeks of emptiness that he paused to simply take it in. The Gryffindor table was full of chattering students. Their mood no doubt was derived from the news of the Chamber problem being solved.

Spotting Scott in the mess of students was outrageously easy. He was the only one who seemed to be in a sour mood. Tom limped forward another few steps when his friend looked up towards the door. He was looking for someone with some kind of dead hope in his eyes. Then the eyes fell on Tom and the hope suddenly lit up like a fire as the widest grin spread across Scott's boyish face. The twelve year old boy literally jumped out of his seat, where he was wedged between Dean and Pavarti, and ran towards Tom.

"Oh my gosh you're alive," he exclaimed, "I thought that they had taken you to… or that they had… and they I thought that you would come back when Harry and Ron got rid of the Chamber. Then you didn't. I don't know I thought it was too late or something." Scott's voice caught and Tom let out a shaky laugh clapping his best friend on the back with his hand.

"It was Azkaban," Tom said in a hushed whisper. "They were late getting me out. Very punctual people they are."

"That's not fair," Scott said immediately.

"It doesn't matter," Tom brushed off, "Come on let's sit down."

"Oh yeah," Scott said noticing the crutches for the first time. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine," Tom said immediately with vigor. He hobbled forward towards the table. Other eyes were falling onto his back as he progressed. When he made it to the table Dean and Pavarti parted like the red sea leaving ample space for both Scott and Tom. Tom managed to swing his feet over the bench with ample difficulty.

"Hey mate you're back," Seamus said with a nervous laugh.

Tom put on his best simile. It never occurred to him that he never really showed Scott how good a liar he was. "Yeah mothers are a pain aren't they," Tom complained.

"Mothers?" Dean questioned confused

"Yeah mine pulled me out of school because of the whole Chamber mess," Tom informed them, "With the whole 'It's not safe in Hogwarts thing' and all. Not that it did her much good. I got the Gumps. I couldn't get out of bed for days and my system wouldn't keep anything down. It sucked. I was probably better off here."

The tension that had been flowing through the other second years released in an instant. Suddenly Dean and Seamus were laughing out of relief. "That sucks mate," Seamus said. "You had us all going for a minute. Thought you were off to Azkaban." He said this final sentence as a joke. If only he knew the accuracy of his own words.

"Cause I totally come from the pure blood mania families," Tom said sarcastically. Scott kept glancing at him with wide eyes. Tom hadn't uttered a word of truth since he sat down. He was an excellent liar.

There was a clanging noise from the teachers table. Everyone looked up as Dumbledore began his end of term speech, "Before we begin the feast, let us have a round of applause for Professor Sprout and Madame Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been Petrified. Also, in light of the recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been canceled."

A thunderous cheer erupted from the students. Tom snuck a glance over at Scott. The relief was written plainly all over his best friends face. There was a sudden creaking noise in the back of the room and several heads turned to find the two big doors swinging open. They revealed the heaping figure of Hagrid who took two steps into the room before the cheering started.

Tom's eyes searched the games keeper for the signs. Something about him wasn't as extreme as Tom, but Azkaban had left its mark. It was in the bags under his eyes. They were more profound than usual. Tom started clapping along with the others. Despite his cheery appearance Hagrid had gone through the same hardship that Tom had, and it left Tom with a new found appreciation for the man.

Eventually the applause stopped and Hagrid made his way to his rightful place at the teacher's table. Tom turned and listened to his classmates talk about negligible details of their lives. Tom sat there in silence listening to them talk about such worries that seemed so ridiculous that it became his entertainment. He sometimes took it for granted but he was in a class with a bunch of twelve year olds. They were innocent, and naïve, a feeling Tom no longer enjoyed, but at the same time listening to them talk was a source of hope. If they could worry about the color of their socks why couldn't he? If they could have no greater thing to worry about why couldn't he? If they could go years with no break in their happiness why couldn't he?

This would be the feeling that he always associated the end of his second year at Hogwarts with. It had the lingering aftertaste of despair, but the knowledge that things could be better. One day he would things would be better.

* * *

><p>AN Alright so this is the last chapter of Tom's second year of Hogwarts and I'm going to appoligize right now for the not so great ending. I'm not great with concluding things. I want to thank everyone and anyone who has reviewed and or read this story some of your comments have made my day at some point in time. Obviously this isn't the end to Tom's story as he is only in his second year. I will post the first chapter of his third year after I finish updateing my other Next Gen story that I have going (so probably in a week or two). Thanks again for taking your time with this. With that I'm going to bid everyone adieu and a reluctant farewell... for now.


	20. Chapter 20

Hey just a heads up the sequal is posted. It's called An Outside Ally


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